Rating: R
Movie Release Date: April 11, 2008
DVD Release Date: August 12, 2008
Plot 411: A surly and pompous English professor begins a relationship with a former student and is reunited (unwillingly) with his wayward brother.
Review: It's been a while since I've experienced a character I really hated, but then again I've never experienced Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid). The very sad and ironic part about it is that this character could be based on any number of English professors I had in college as well. This movie really highlights the arrogance of academia, so much so that it is almost unforgivable. Luckily, Wetherhold's character arch is such that you begin to see the frost melt off his exterior and almost glimpse a real, live, beating heart. Wetherhold is a widower who has lived his life with a barrier between him and the world. The heartache experienced from the loss of his wife has created a gigantic emotional void. This behavior has affected his family - daugther Vanessa (Ellen Page) and son James (Ashton Holmes). Vanessa has been forced to take over as head of the household despite the fact that she is the youngest. While it would seem she is emotionally mature, I think it actually stunts her emotional growth and warps her identity. Her brother, on the other hand, is severely withdrawn from his family as if he is a castaway. He has self-esteem issues as his father doesn't seem to acknowledge his brilliance because he is too focused on his own successes and failures. Wetherhold meets Dr. Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker), his former student, at the ER after an accident. A former lover of English, Hartigan had a schoolgirl crush on Wetherhold as a college freshman and is still intrigued by him. She believes he's different from the man she once knew. They begin a rocky relationship that, in essence, wakes Wetherhold up out of his stupor. Added to this already disfunctional family is Chuck (Thomas Haden Church), Wetherhold's adopted brother, who is a delinquent and slacker in so many ways but still appears to be the most intelligent person of the bunch. The movie's humor is really specific because, as the title indicates, the characters are all smart people. The intelligent, verbal sparring that flies between characters is creative and so perfect for that academic world they all come from. Page, especially, does a really good job at the deadpan, yet biting, assaults.
Watch It: For another good Ellen Page that's a little more grown up than Juno.
Skip It: If I already lost you when I said "academia."
Movie Release Date: April 11, 2008
DVD Release Date: August 12, 2008
Plot 411: A surly and pompous English professor begins a relationship with a former student and is reunited (unwillingly) with his wayward brother.
Review: It's been a while since I've experienced a character I really hated, but then again I've never experienced Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid). The very sad and ironic part about it is that this character could be based on any number of English professors I had in college as well. This movie really highlights the arrogance of academia, so much so that it is almost unforgivable. Luckily, Wetherhold's character arch is such that you begin to see the frost melt off his exterior and almost glimpse a real, live, beating heart. Wetherhold is a widower who has lived his life with a barrier between him and the world. The heartache experienced from the loss of his wife has created a gigantic emotional void. This behavior has affected his family - daugther Vanessa (Ellen Page) and son James (Ashton Holmes). Vanessa has been forced to take over as head of the household despite the fact that she is the youngest. While it would seem she is emotionally mature, I think it actually stunts her emotional growth and warps her identity. Her brother, on the other hand, is severely withdrawn from his family as if he is a castaway. He has self-esteem issues as his father doesn't seem to acknowledge his brilliance because he is too focused on his own successes and failures. Wetherhold meets Dr. Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker), his former student, at the ER after an accident. A former lover of English, Hartigan had a schoolgirl crush on Wetherhold as a college freshman and is still intrigued by him. She believes he's different from the man she once knew. They begin a rocky relationship that, in essence, wakes Wetherhold up out of his stupor. Added to this already disfunctional family is Chuck (Thomas Haden Church), Wetherhold's adopted brother, who is a delinquent and slacker in so many ways but still appears to be the most intelligent person of the bunch. The movie's humor is really specific because, as the title indicates, the characters are all smart people. The intelligent, verbal sparring that flies between characters is creative and so perfect for that academic world they all come from. Page, especially, does a really good job at the deadpan, yet biting, assaults.
Watch It: For another good Ellen Page that's a little more grown up than Juno.
Skip It: If I already lost you when I said "academia."
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