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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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 MOVIE REVEW 
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People Not Smart Enough

Critics say indie romantic comedy needs an IQ test

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(Newser) – Critics like the big-name actors in family serio-comedy Smart People —especially Dennis Quaid, who stars as a cranky professor with much to learn about people—but think they might have been smarter to choose a different script. Screenwriter Mark Jude Poirier "is aiming for Scrabulous dialogue but his movie is barely of Boggle quality," Carrie Rickey writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The indie film is in the mold of Little Miss Sunshine but seems "a little too impressed with its quippy dialogue and character quirks," Jeff Vice writes in the Deseret Morning News. There are flashes of brilliance, but all in all, Mick LaSalle writes in the San Francisco Chronicle, "it's neither smart nor about people. It makes a few promises, and then breaks them."

Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Dennis Quaid, pose for a photograph to promote their film 'Smart People
Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Dennis Quaid, pose for a photograph to promote their film 'Smart People" at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Monday, Jan. 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
In this image released by Miramax Films, Dennis Quaid, left, and Sarah Jessica Parker are shown in a scene from the film
In this image released by Miramax Films, Dennis Quaid, left, and Sarah Jessica Parker are shown in a scene from the film "Smart People."   (AP Photo/Miramax Films, Bruce Birmelin)
From left, actors Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page and Dennis Quaid attend a Cinema Society screening of
From left, actors Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page and Dennis Quaid attend a Cinema Society screening of "Smart People" at Landmark Sunshine Theater, Monday, March 31, 2008 in New York.   (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
Director Noam Murro, left, and screenwriter Mark Jude Poirier pose for a photograph to promote their film 'Smart People
Director Noam Murro, left, and screenwriter Mark Jude Poirier pose for a photograph to promote their film 'Smart People" at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Monday, Jan. 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
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Smart People - Trailer   (wfarun)

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