Little Miss Sunshine and Juno turned out to have a huge influence over independent cinema in the mid-2000s, combining to earn over $330 million at the box office on total production costs of $15 million, before going on to net one win from four Academy Award nominations apiece.
Knowing how much Hollywood loves to jump on a bandwagon that could turn out to be potentially lucrative, in an instant there were a string of star-studded offbeat low budget comedies in production, but many of them ended up falling through the critical and commercial cracks.
One such title is 2008’s Smart People, which ironically featured Juno‘s Elliot Page. The feature directorial debut of 300: Rise of an Empire‘s Noam Murro, the plot focuses on Dennis Quaid’s recently widowed and self-centered literature professor, who managed to alienate the rest of his family.
Shortly after intimating a relationship with a former student, his troublesome adopted brother shows up out of the blue, forcing him to reevaluate his life and mend the distance he’s put between himself and his children. Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church co-star with Quaid and Page, but the movie was largely forgettable.
Smart People landed a bang average Rotten Tomatoes score of 50% and only made $11 million at the box office, but it’s now available to stream on Netflix for those willing to give it a shot.
