LeonLouisRicci Dennis Quaid Plays a Barely Functional College Professor that is On the Brink of Rejection from His Students, Colleagues, Publisher, Son, and People in General. Ellen Page is His Cute "Monster" Daughter, He Her Role Model. She is as Smart as They Come but of Course Has Issues (like hating to sit alone at lunch). Thomas Hayden Church is the Antithesis Adopted Brother to the Family and Shows Signs of Being the Really Smart One Despite Being a Homeless Middle-Aged Slacker ("I love my life.") Sarah Jessica Parker is a Medical Doctor that is an Interloper at Christmas Dinner and is Told..."Come in we need some anti-venom in the snake pit.". Ashton Homes is the Poet Brother that is at Odds with His Sister, Dad, and Loves His Uncle.This is the Cast and the Setting for This Low-Key, Heady, Wordy, Peek-In at a Family of Book Smart People. It is Off-Beat, Interesting, and is Not for Everyone. But Those Seeking Something to Counter Most of What Comes Out of Hollywood Routinely, This is a Thoughtful, Sometimes Comfortable Curl-Up and Voyeuristic Viewing that is Rewarding and Satisfying to its Small Target Audience.The Strength of the Film is the Dialog Exchanges Where Most of the Humor Resides. The Drama is Less Engaging but Necessary for Full Disclosure. There May Be a Happy Ending, and Maybe Not. That is Never Clear and Makes for a Watch Til the End Credits to Have That Bit of Intrigue Answered.

arnreisman This should have been a great movie. With stars such as Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church, I was expecting work of the same high quality as Juno and Sideways. Unfortunately, their talents are wasted in this shallow attempt to portray loneliness and self-absorption. There is virtually no character development; each character's shortcomings are sledge hammered at the audience, but, just as we see them not able to care about each other, there is no reason for the audience to care about them either. We have the lazy stereotypes of the curmudgeon, the conservative offspring (think Alex in Family Ties) and the visiting misfit sibling, but they are all cardboard cutouts with absolutely no way for us to empathize with them because we don't really know them. None of the characters is tragic enough or funny enough to merit our concern. It's rare for a movie to fall so short at making these essential connections with the audience. This is a shame, because there are four smart actors involved here and the idea itself has merit, but the director and writer aren't smart enough to know what to do with them; in essence, to know how to make a movie.

Peace I did not have great expectations of this film and I was not disappointed. It did deliver easy watching experience and I did not expect anything more. Acting was good except SJP was a little too bitchy and dry but maybe that was in the script, I don't know all other characters where reasonably life like. The irony is that the main character Lawrence was displeased that his book was "dumbed down" for the ordinary reader but the movie itself is "dumbed down" for the ordinary watcher... The family is portrayed as being formed out of ubersmart individuals, but as only proof of their smartness is presented use of smart words. Not a single profound philosophical concept or anything of that kind. They where presented as people who have accomplishments, but only excuse given for that was arrogance. could have been made much more enjoyable if it where written smarter...

Peter Kowalski This movie is definitely not for everyone: ignore the fact that SJP is starring, because if you're a fan of her work, you'll definitely end up hating this movie. Long story short, the movie is simply about a bunch of a**holes, thinking they know everything simply because they are well educated. Little do they know about real life, though, and it all comes out when the head of the family meets (again) an attractive lady physician. They are all accompanied by the family uncle, who is definitely "smarter" than anyone else, even though not having a proper education or job. Now this would have been an interesting movie to watch if not for the obvious down-points. Firstly and fore-mostly, the music. Every 10 minutes (quite literally), we are faced with a scene with an acoustic guitar playing. The soundtrack consists of only indie-acoustic songs, which make the movie simply painful to watch. Dennis Quaid's performance is absolutely annoying, and let's leave it at that. It's nice to see SJP out of her natural habitat of New York City (for 90% of the movie at least), which is truly a great surprise; when the movie comes to an end, you realize it was pretty much the only shining star. Ellen Page is being herself, know-it-all and I'm-better-than-you-are attitude all over the place in one scene, only to become needy and pissy at everything in the next one. About halfway through the movie, I bet you'll find yourself asking: What is the matter with these people? and I don't blame you. This movie could have been a great polemic on wisdom, but it just falls flat when faced with indie music and terrible performances, and the absolute lack of any action whatsoever.