Smart People - April 2008

Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (DENNIS QUAID) 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. His teenaged daughter (ELLEN PAGE) is an acid-tongued overachiever who follows all too closely in dad’s misery-loving footsteps, and his adopted, preposterously ne’er- do-well brother (THOMAS HADEN CHURCH) has perfected the art of freeloading. A widower who can’t seem to find passion in anything anymore, not even the Victorian Literature in which he’s an expert, it seems Lawrence is sleepwalking through a very stunted middle age. When his brother shows up unexpectedly for an extended stay at just about the same time as he accidentally encounters his former student Janet (SARAH JESSICA PARKER), the circumstances cause him to stir from his deep, deep freeze, with often comical, sometimes heartbreaking, consequences for himself and everyone around him.

Directed by Noam Murro
Written by Mark Poirier
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Rating: R
Release date: April 11, 2008

Casts:

• Dennis Quaid as Lawrence
• Sarah Jessica Parker as Janet
• Thomas Haden Church as Chuck
• Ellen Page as Vanessa Wetherhold
• Ashton Holmes as James Wetherhold
• Christine Lahti as Nancy
• Camille Mana as Missy Chin
• David Denman as William

Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.