Smart People
User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 72 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 72
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 72
  3. Negative: 10 out of 72

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  1. Mr.Carrey-
    Apr 8, 2008
    10
    Wonderful !!! Ellen Page is big !
  2. JeffP.
    May 5, 2008
    10
    What? This is the best American film in years! The acting, directing, writing...it's all brilliant. Ellen Page is at her best, as is Sarah Jessica Parker. Dennis Quaid and Thomas Haden Church are perfect adopted brothers. It's all very subtle, which I think might be unappealing to the masses, though everyone I know who has seen it has loved it. This is not a broad comedy. It9;s a dark, nuanced one. Sophisticated, funny, and poignant.… Collapse
  3. MickyJ.
    Jul 8, 2008
    10
    Loved it. Because of the cast and maybe the marketing, people were expecting something other than the intelligent, thoughtful, and intimate dark comedy that this is. Amazing performances from all the leads, sharp writing, and top-notch directing make this one of the best films of 2008.
  4. TomP.
    Dec 30, 2008
    9
    Loved the tone and humor.
  5. JohnA.
    Apr 11, 2008
    10
    It feels to me that it's been awhile since there has been a really intelligent comedy/drama at the theatres. I really thought this was well cast.
  6. GlennS.
    Apr 13, 2008
    10
    This is the most intelligent comedy made in a long time.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
57 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 33
  3. Negative: 1 out of 33
  1. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    70
    Poirer and director Noam Murro have trouble bringing this to a satisfying climax, but the characters are credible and sharply observed and all four actors go to town.
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  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    Page and Church work so brilliantly together as a comic team that it's worth enduring the leads' utter lack of chemistry together - not to mention the fact they're both wildly miscast.
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  3. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    67
    A third of the way through Smart People, I channeled Randy Newman's "Short People" and thought, "Smart people got no reason to live."
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