Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: movies.yahoo.com Dennis Quaid and Ellen Page star as father and daughter in, "Smart People", a dark comedy with a strong performance from Quaid.

Any movie that starts off with an angry man who parks illegally in a prestigious private college is destined for greatness in a typical movie box office, at least in my opinion. When I think of Dennis Quaid, I think back to my 6th grade days of watching, "The Parent Trap" with a pre-druggie Lindsay Lohan and a beautiful kid-spiced love story with this gentle man at its helm. I also think about "Yours, Mine and Ours," a remake of the classic of the same name starring Lucille Ball. Another film that comes to mind is "In Good Company," where Quaid plays a man who is demoted and under the leadership of a much younger Topher Grace. In short, I really only think of romantic comedies in relation to him; the role suits him. I don't think of his blockbuster action hits like "Vantage Point" or "Flight of the Phoenix." For one thing, I have regretfully and shamefully never seen them. For another, I don't like to imagine him in any other role than that of a soft, fun dad.

Like everyone else will probably say, I will admit that I saw "Smart People" to see the highly praised Ellen Page relive her glorious quirkiness once again. She did, for the most part. Her sarcasm and wit stayed strong, even though she was embedded in an entirely different role from "Juno." Instead of a cute, dorky girl into lots of cool, dorky music, Page plays a scholarly high school senior in, "Smart People," eager to make the perfect score on her SATs and get into a great school. But, this movie is not really about Page and her snooty sounding character Vanessa Wetherhold, although she does have an interesting plot of her own. It's about Dennis Quaid, the man who plays her father, Lawrence.

Still getting over his dead wife, Lawrence Wetherhold is a bitter English professor teaching at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. He does not like getting along with people, and does not hide this fact. With several failing attempts to publish his novel under his belt as well, he is certainly an angry man.

After his car is towed for taking up two spots instead of one, Wetherhold attempts to break into the impound lot. He succeeds-for a moment-until the attendant chases after him and he falls and gives himself a concussion. When he wakes up, he is in a hospital and finds out from his attractive ex-student doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker) that he cannot legally drive for 6 months. Enter Wetherhold's mooching adopted brother, Chuck (Thomas Haden Church) who deposits himself in Lawrence's house as his unappreciated pseudo chaffeur.

Continued...

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