Church -- are really the main attractions here. If you look at Quaid's film history, you will see a wide array of projects, ranging from Breaking Away and The Right Stuff to Far From Heaven and Traffic. He's not afraid to take risks as an actor, and his long career shows that he is able to withstand the ebbs and flows of an industry that is very fickle. He's the reason you should see this film.

wonderful! The screening I went to at Sundance received a standing ovation when it was finished, so it's not like I'm just giving you my own humble opinion here. Everyone at Sundance loved it. Ellen and Sarah Jessica are both outstanding in this movie, so I'm taking my girlfriends on opening night.

your monies worth for two hours of enjoyment that is good enough for us! We NEVER EVER listen or read the critics. We only care about our friends and those who we know like the same things as us. Well enough about that.Wow! What a cast. Ellen Page is simply wonderful and is surely headed for superstardom in this very down down movie about a group of people who are just not happy and can't seem to find their way. A few great laughs and moments in an otherwise dreary movie.The cast is simply fantastic from Ellen to Sarah Jessica Parker to Quaid to the very underrated but great actor Thomas Haden Church.Page just blows us away and she is not yet 20! We believe this movie was made even before her academy award nomination for Juno.A must see for those who love the movies.We give it a 10 based specifically on the acting, not the movie!

performances and laughs every time especially Smart People. Despite this film getting not that much praise, its a great film to see if you like those ordinary films that anything but ordinary.

and his somewhat estranged collegiate son Holmes . Funny in a misanthropic way thanks to the smart script by newcomer Mark Poirer and directed with surprising depth and skill by novice Noam Murro in this unexpected indie gem. Kudos to the gentle guitar score by Nuno Bettencourt underscoring the humanity lurking underneath the films' rancorous protagonists.

turn in wonderful performances in a perfectly matched cast.To me the pace is perfect, and the dialog is crisp, compelling, almost flawless, with lots of funny lines.For me, one of the most uplifting features of this movie is the way the whole ensemble of characters develops together. The strangeness of the characters as individuals, along with the convincing balance as extended family, reminds me of the ensemble in Running with Scissors. The quirky dysfunctionality and functionality of this family in combination are like nothing so much as the family in Running with Scissors. In any event, these are characters who together gain a renewed sense of hope … a hope that imbues this wounded band of characters with a sense of togetherness and vision that is to me very, very moving.Another feature of this movie that I myself found especially appealing is the presence of such exquisitely composed visual scenes. These are of such delightfully crafted texture that in some ways this movie reminds me of the carefully composed scenes in Girl with a Pearl Earring and Atonement. The cinematography and beauty of scene after scene are just wonderful.All in all, this is a fun, funny, moving portrait of a delightful band of characters. I highly recommend this movie to anyone.

character in the movie. He represents the antithesis of this father/daughter combo, and completely shakes up their very private and inaccessible little world.all in all, i gave this movie 8 stars, not 10. the reasoning behind that is that Thomas Haden Church's character seems to react in a completely different manner than one would expect, after half of the movie has passed. That's a difficult sentence to interpret, i realize. What i'm trying to say is that his character turns in a direction that doesn't seem to follow suit from what you've learned of him in the first half of the movie. Obviously there's an event that triggers this change, but it still doesn't sit well with me.Also; I don't really see the need for the brother character, he didn't bring much of anything to the movie at all...anyways, worth the expense to see the movie.

After an accident, Church moves in with Quaid and Page. Quaid also meets a former student Sarah Jessica Parker , now a doctor, who had a crush on him. They start to date. The plot isn't anything special, but the dialogue is witty and the relationships are well observed. And this is also a case of fine actors who make something merely serviceable into something special. Quaid has never been better. My feeling about his work as an actor is that he is very uneven. He can be excellent, such as in The Right Stuff, but usually he's adequate, and often, perhaps too often, he's awful. But this is definitely one of the excellent performances. Church has kind of a sitcommy role, but that's fitting for an actor who was really good in sitcoms. He's hilarious here, too. A lot of the time, I was thinking of the movie as somewhat akin to a sitcom, but a good sitcom. There have been such things, you know. Page, fresh off her star-making turn as Juno though Smart People was filmed earlier , is an actress I've liked in a couple of movies I disliked Juno and Hard Candy . Finally, a movie with her that I actually like! Feels good. And she's great in it. The character is similar to Juno, but not quite so despicably precious. I like how the writer and director invite the audience to dislike all four of the major characters, at least a bit. They are recognizable people, which is, unfortunately, a rarity in movies. I liked the movie, and recommend it.