Smart People is not, more’s the pity, a feature length actioner led by a bunch of immaculately well turned out gents in tweed.
No, when they say ‘smart’, the makers of this film mean the American version of smart, better known to us Euros as intelligent, clever or big bloody brainboxes.
Here, the smart person in question is Dennis Quaid, and for us, his brainy bragging rights are already well secured- after all, he did pilot his way out of Martin Short in Inner Space, which is no mean feat.
Here, he’s more conventionally clever as widowed literature professor Lawrence living with precocious daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page). The prof is arrogant and hates his students, but worse still, he’s as socially inept as Barry George.
His brother, played by Sideways‘ Thomas Haden Church, soon shows up and turns out to be the polar opposite of his stuffy sibling, sparking up a joint with Vanessa and taking her out for some good old underage drinking.
Meanwhile, Lawrence has managed to fumble his way into a relationship with doctor Sarah Jessica Parker, and for the rest of the movie we watch as he tries to mess things up, she frowns and ultimately everything kind of gets a bit better.
It’s all quite familiar dysfunctional American family territory, and fans of The Squid And The Whale or The Savages will recognise the middle-aged angst, acoustic guitar soundtrack and cord jackets present in all of these films.
Smart People also makes great use of facial hair as a signifier of intelligence, and there are more beards here than in 300. In fact, the only intelligent person on our screens for any length of time without a beard is Ellen Page, and she just wouldn’t look right with a goatee.
In all honesty, not an awful lot really happens here, but there are some nice moments and polished acting, particularly when the family are all together. Christmas dinner is a memorably awkward scene with Haden Church on fine form as the loser brother, and another highlight has to be Quaid’s pillow talk (“I thought it went OK? I just don’t want to blow it with you. Do you have any plans for Christmas?”).
So although you may sit wondering what you’ve just been doing as the final credits roll, it’s an enjoyable enough way to spend an hour and a half, during which time you could even put a bit of effort into growing a beard of your own and becoming a very smart person indeed.