Being smart is sometimes a blessing. Being smart is sometimes a curse.
I went to see Smart People last night. I saw the trailer a couple of weeks ago and felt I had to see it. Ellen Page is probably one of the smartest new actresses on the scene. I really enjoy the characters she gets cast for. While I’m not a huge fan of Dennis Quaid of Thomas Church, I do enjoy comedy and quirky stuff. At least that was the impression I had going in before the movie.
Yes, it’s sorta quirky. Yes, it’s a thinking movie. But boy it is damn funny. I haven’t seen a movie that is this laugh out loud in a theater in a while. Anyone that has had some trouble relating to other people in their life will certainly enjoy this movie. Everyone is cast extremely well. I don’t want to give anything about the movie away. I will give two big thumbs up on it and say you must go see it to appreciate it.
During the movie I experienced a lot of things. One of those things was a familiarity to the music. A large percentage of the music is based on acoustic guitar. The playing sounded real familiar but I couldn’t put a finger on it until the first chords over the final scene rang out. Instantaneously I recognized that it was Nuno. Which made sense for all that I heard prior. The song at the end is an alternate version to the song you’re hearing now. I think the only difference is that they added a female vocal as a duet.
In case you’re not familiar with Nuno, he was a guitar player who is probably the last official guitar hero. The whole concept of blazing guitar with amazing chops and killer riffs with taste has died. Nuno was the last king of that hill I think. Will it ever come back into vogue? Who knows. I’m sure I’d appreciate it. What was strange is that reading the credits of the music seemed more like Nuno was taking songs he had written for Extreme (the band he made it to the big leagues with) and did them as acoustic versions minus the vocals. A repurposing of the music if you will. Lucky for the situation it worked wonders.
As an ending note, I deplore people who bring a baby or toddler to the movies. If you really want to see a movie – hire a baby sitter. Don’t assume that because it’s a Sunday night at 11p.m. that it’s cool to bring a noisy baby. It was mentioned the the theater manager who rectified the situation. But seriously, are people really that stupid to think it doesn’t bother others who’ve paid $11 to see a movie?