Smart People provides for moments of satire. We witness Vanessa (Page) simultaneously 'slumming it' and loosely attempting incest--she protests that she is adopted--when drunk for the first time. And, Lawrence's trials and tribulations, largely brought on by the shadow of his professorial ego, provide for more than a few instances of relief. But, the depiction of awkward departmental meetings captures boredom, but seems more like boardroom antics than the typical cattiness of academe.
Our well cast family is rounded out by Sarah Jessica Parker, who maintains a smug smirk and a stiff upper lip during moments that make you wish she'd whip off her heels and let them fly. Though this character is shades away from SATC's Carrie Bradshaw, SJP manages to give more depth than Juno's Ellen Page, who maintains a quirky smart aleck monotone consistently.Over all, this film left me tossing my hands in the air wondering how smart writers could possibly have thought that smart audiences would have been okay with the plot of this film. For those of you expecting something in the mood of Noah Baumbach or Nicole Holofcenter guess again. The plot twist doesn't take us down a cynical or sardonic route, but instead leads us down the path of least resistance toward a polite rom. com. in which our self-absorbed Professor shifts from stern pedagogue to something a little more Socratic--hard to believe, and harder to watch.
