I went to this movie in part because of the NY Times review, which made it sound something like "the Squid and the Whale," or "the Savages." Those were excellent movies. This one is awful. I hardly know where to begin. The worst offense is that is a film that is trying very hard to create a tone of knowing realism; because nothing really happens, we are supposed to be gripped by the meaning of the characters and what they say, and perhaps be impressed by the acting. But the everything about this movie is implausible--every decision each character makes, every line that comes out of their mouths, is phony to the core. We have no idea why anyone does or believes anything. Quaid is terribly miscast here--he's supposed to be gritty and pompous at the same time, and he comes off just sounding as though he's trying very hard to imagine what an English professor might sound like, and he seems to re-imagine it every time he opens his mouth. He put on a lot of weight for the role though, so we know he's trying really hard. What a waste of time. Why would this film get a wide release, and "The Savages", an infinitely better movie, be confined to art houses?
Review of Smart People
