After having my wisdom teeth removed this past Thursday November thirteenth two thousand and eight I have had little to do. That's a falsitude. I've had a lot more to do than I would prefer, but due to the fact that I was drugged out on pain killers I haven't been able to do anything but watch Television and movies. Something I enjoy immensely. Most of the time.
Upon being afforded this time to lounge around and watch movies I was talked into renting one by my sister. I thought this a good idea and selected a film that I had heard good things about. This movie was Smart People. Starring Dennis Quaid, Ellen Page, Sarah Jessica Parker, and some other creepy guy, you'd think that the cast would be enough to make it enjoyable. You'd think that. You'd be wrong.
The movie clocking in at ninety five minutes seemed about just about ninety five minutes too long. The reason why is because as the title suggests, it was a piece of overly indulgent cinema. I'll proceed to list why I believe this to be.
The first over indulgence in this flagrantly obnoxious flick were the characters. I don't know who decided that being an unmitigated asshole was funny, but he seems to have done a pretty good job convincing filmmakers that this is true. Dennis Quaid's character in the movie is annoyingly rude which I'm sure is supposed to play off of Ellen Page's character (his daughter) who is rudely annoying. There is hardly any character development, and the little there is seems to work hard to make you like the character even less. Hooray for Ellen Page, she can be precocious.
The next thing on the list is the lighting, or rather the lack-there-of. Through out the movie there are countless shots that are barely worth existing simply because you can hardly see anything. I mean anything. If that's not bad enough practically every other scene in the movie looks like it was shot in prison in solitary confinement. I get it, having half of your face in darkness is dramatic, doesn't mean it needs to used in every damn scene.
Finally is the soundtrack to the movie. Much like Ellen Page's other movie Juno, Smart People is littered with dozens of indie tunes. However unlike Juno which had quirky, upbeat songs, Smart People is super-saturated with melodramatic acoustic melodies that inspire the viewer to hang themselves promptly after watching this movie. That is if they can finish it.
Looking at the cover of the movie box fills me with sadness. I wasted six dollars supporting a movie like this, and I am worried that this unfortunate rental might possibly encourage the writer and director to produce similar work. Though I'm sure that's a poorly founded fear.
And God damnit if Sarah Jessica Parker isn't the prettiest horse I've ever seen.
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