Actors: Laura Dern, Treat Williams, Mary Kay Place
Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Smooth Talk
Connie, played by Laura Dern, is a 15 year-old with a typical teen attitude - she basically thinks that the world revolves around her. Her family has had enough of her behavior and tends to close her out of family bonding moments.
The movie opens with a shot of Connie and her two best friends sleeping on the beach. They had awoken only to find out that they are supposed to be meeting Laura's mother at the mall and they are very late. They hitch a ride and make it to the mall on time.
The next time they go to the mall, they meet some older boys who want them to go to the same movie that they are seeing, but Jill, the third friend, doesn't want to go with the boys - she's the least mature of the three and is not ready for boys yet. Later, Connie and Laura want to go to the burger joint across the road, but Jill won't go, so the next day Connie and Laura go to the mall and the burger joint without Jill.
Throughout this, Connie is having problems with her mom, dad, and 24 year-old sister June, who still lives at home and whom everyone thinks is the perfect child.
Connie starts to date boys without her parents' knowledge and runs into an older man who acts like he is one of the teenagers. The ending of the story is much more ambigious than the movie.
--Christina Spiros, Resident Scholar
Connie (Dern) is a typical disaffected 15-year-old girl who lives in a Northern California suburb and is starting to feel the stirring of her adult feminine powers. She fights with her mom, hangs out with friends, and generates a little heat with boys who pursue her. An unexpected encounter with older man, a real smooth talker named Arnold Friend (Williams), who seems to know just where she's at and how to get to her, pushes Connie to make a huge and ambivalent leap into adulthood with all its mixed rewards. Joyce Chopra directed this small, independent 1985 feature based on a short story by Joyce Carol Oates called "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been." It's not a particularly momentous or thrilling story, but Williams, 18-year-old Dern, and Mary Kay Place as her worried but powerless mother, do a job of bringing this small tragedy (with a tidy tacked-on resolution not in keeping with its source). Watch for Levon Helm, drummer and vocalist with The Band, as the father.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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Analysis of Smooth Talk
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Kids:
- general coming of age story
- fighting with mother
Age group
- trouble in high school
Sexing?
- guy chasing
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair type
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
Body type
- (woman) skinny
Events of movie makes character more...
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
- hard edged
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn wavey
Body type
- (woman) average
How much in movie?
- 40%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
- 40%
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- blonde
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) muscular
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
Small town?
Yes
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- depressed/sad
- thoughtful
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- sex under blankets
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Classic/oldies rock
Is this movie based on a
- book
