Smart People (Blu-ray)

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"You gave me a C," Dr. Hartigan tells the professor. "You said it was 'sophomoric.' I was a freshman."

"That's not what 'sophomoric' means," the professor says, and is then reminded that he wrote on her paper all those years ago, "Rambles like a bad folk song."

In another scene, a student comes to his office at five minutes to five and the professor reaches up when the student's not looking and moves the minute hand until it's past the hour, then snippily tells the lad his office hours are over and leaves the building. In still another fun moment, when Vanessa's uncle lights up a joint and offers it to her, she deadpans, "Great, now I'm in an Afterschool Special."

You almost ache for there to be more killer lines like that, and yet "Smart People" is still entertaining because the characters at least seem real. Poirer's father was a professor and he says on one of the bonus features that he's had these characters rattling around his head for most of his life. I believe him. I've spent the last 20 years as a professor and eight years before that as a grad student. I've run across people like this, but "Wonder Boys" does a far better job of capturing the academic life and having fun in the process.

Video:
The DVD of "Smart People" was listed at 2.35:1 aspect ratio, while the Blu-ray box says it's 2.40:1. Frankly, I didn't notice the difference, but then again I didn't have two HD TVs side by side and the luxury of making that comparison. I will say this, though. When the menu screen comes on, it's so color-soaked and razor-sharp that you think, wow. But there are no "wow" moments in the movie itself, which I attribute to the source materials and directorial choices. As with the DVD, there's a little grain throughout, though the edges are more precise. The colors, while not as eye-popping as that menu screen, at least look natural, though on occasion the skin tones lean in the direction of spray-tan orange. Overall, though, the 1080p picture (AVC/MPEG-4 codec) looks good, and because there are no visible compression artifacts and the transfer seems fine, you have to believe that this is as good as "Smart People" is going to look.

Audio:
Since this is such a low-key film with such a low-key audio--mostly talk--it's tough to tell how good the English PCM 5.1 uncompressed (48kHz/24-bit) sound is, because it never ratchets up. It's not a terribly dynamic soundtrack, and the rear speakers don't really get involved all that much. In the hospital and bar scenes there's more ambient noise and more channels get used, but for the most part it's straight dialogue and a lot of front- and center-speaker action. The bass is a little soft, and the treble isn't as bright as it could be. Which is to say that while the audio is compatible with the video and the tone of the film, it doesn't jump off the bat like a home run ball.

Extras:
Bottom line: The Blu-ray has the same bonus features as the DVD, with no Blu-ray exclusives.

Big-screen lovers will appreciate a coupon good for a free movie ticket to see "Blindness" from 8-12 through 10-31, and if you thought the actors were all a little less animated than you might have hoped for there's a fun little gag reel that shows them uncorking a bit of that pent-up energy. It kind of makes you wonder if these talented folks would have been given freer rein to ad lib if it wouldn't have imparted a little more energy into the film.

Also included is a 16-minute rundown on the project and individual characters, with the writer, director, and appropriate cast member talking about each character. No great revelations here. Of the nine deleted scenes, several make you wonder why they didn't make the cut. The only other bonus feature is the full-length commentary by Murro and Poirer, which is full of the pair's droll sense of humor. Interspersed between mundane comments ("Here's Dennis in the hospital") and gushing remarks about how fortunate they were to get the stars they did are a few revealing comments. They deliberately cast Quaid against type (though you have to wonder what might have resulted if they had let him slip in a few of his "type" gestures or inclinations). Same with Sarah Jessica Parker, whom they said they deliberately tried to "strip" so that the public wouldn't recognize a single shred of Carrie ("Sex and the City") Bradshaw. Makes you wonder, again, what would have happened if they had let a little Sarah Jessica shine through. When you compare it to another "meet the family" flick, "The Family Stone," which also had an erstwhile brother and a "good" one, it just ultimately lacks a little something. Heart, maybe.

Bottom Line:
Perhaps I expected too much, but as I said, "Wonder Boys" does a better job of spoofing the academic life. You also get the feeling that as entertaining as this film may be, it stops short too many times when what might have developed had the pen kept writing, the stars kept acting or improvising, and the cameras kept rolling may have been more interesting than the tightly edited film that we get.

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