Smart People Critic Reviews

The great virtue of Smart People, attributable to Noam Murro’s easygoing direction as well as to Mr. Poirier’s wandering screenplay, lies in its general preference for small insights over grand revelations.Read the full review

It's impossible to tell whether the film's ending is happy because it's happy or because it's ending.Read the full review

It's the kind of observational comedy, that'll be hard to find come summertime and should be enjoyed while there's still a chance.Read the full review

Though it features witty dialogue and good performances, the plot contrivances keep it from being an altogether winning enterprise.Read the full review

As tough as Lawrence is to like, Smart People is even harder to hate, mainly because of the sharply observed script by novelist Mark Jude Poirier. Just when you're losing patience with the movie, it sneaks up on you with a poignant detail or a character-defining turn of phrase.Read the full review

Dysfunctional family seriocomedy is well cast, but characters and conflicts lack the sharper definition of similar recent exercises like "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Upside of Anger" and Noah Baumbach's films.Read the full review

The main problem with Smart People is that it never breaks new ground. This is territory we have seen tilled to better effect by more perceptive motion pictures.Read the full review

A good deal of the freshness comes from a grand, clownish slob played by Thomas Haden Church -- he's actually the smartest person of the piece -- while Dennis Quaid occupies the center with a mastery that's all the more notable for its humanity.Read the full review

Poirier is a master at dialogue. His script crackles with sharp lines and he gives all his scenes a splendid comic undertow.Read the full review