The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Smart People
Comedy · Drama · Romance · 2008
Professor Lawrence Wetherhold might be imperiously brilliant, monumentally self-possessed and an intellectual giant -- but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he's as downright flummoxed as the next guy.
Movie details
Smart People
“Sometimes the smartest people have the most to learn”
2008 Comedy · Drama · Romance 1h 35m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.8 / 10
Community rating
Professor Lawrence Wetherhold might be imperiously brilliant, monumentally self-possessed and an intellectual giant -- but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he's as downright flummoxed as the next guy.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Smart People?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Other People's Money
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Celeste & Jesse Forever
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Noam Murro
Written by
Mark Poirier
Dennis Quaid
Lawrence Wetherhold
Sarah Jessica Parker
Janet Hartigan
Thomas Haden Church
Chuck Wetherhold
Elliot Page
Vanessa Wetherhold
Ashton Holmes
James Wetherhold
Christine Lahti
Nancy
Camille Mana
Missy
Court is in session
Put Smart People on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.