Smooth Talk

"Smooth Talk" spends the first half of its run time developing the Dern character, showing her to be a typically (more or less) rebellious, angst-filled, brittle teen who is just discovering boys and dating when an unexpected encounter with a smooth talker (Williams) forces her to take a quantum leap toward maturity. A simple little serious-minded indie with a thin story and not so thin message, "SM" is a slow starter with a solid performance by Dern which will likely be most appreciated by females. B-

I was impressed with Laura's acting and thought she portrayed the difficulty of dealing with coming of age in a touching and realistic manner. Her hormones outpaced her friends noticeably and that put her at odds with her closest friends and also made her the target of males far beyond her abilities to understand and defend herself from. My daughter is now grown and survived her teen years quite well. I thought of this film often during those years and am thankful she did not develop early and that she had sufficient parenting to avoid characters such as Treat played. I have not found this movie available on tape or disc and feel that that is a great loss.

This film is one of the most realistic "coming of age" films I have seen. In fact, parts of it gave me deja vu when I remembered the summer of my 15th year when my best friend and I first discovered we were attractive to men and didn't know quite what to do with that knowledge, as we made the transition from "little girl" to "woman." The main character, Connie, is clearly torn between wanting to bond with and be a part of her family and wanting to exert her independence, and trying to balance all of her roles as she grows up. The best part of the film - which is a small moment actually, but very powerful - is when Connie plays James Taylor's Handy Man and her mother listens to it in another part of the house - that scene shows that mother and daughter are both going through "growing pains." Although the ending was a downer, it is worth seeing the film for Laura Dern's brilliant performance.

The movie is for the most part was good. I recommend reading the short story which it is based on before you see the movie. The movie sticks to the plot for the most part, but there are a few differences that shouldn't have been added in. The roles of the parents were good and accurately got across the ideas that Connie disliked in them. Laura Dern as Connie did an average job of portraying Connie, the shallow 15 year old. Treat Williams was excellent as the disturbing Arnold Friend. The biggest problem with this film is they gave it a Hollywood "happily ever after" which is completely different from the dark ending of the story. "Where you are going, where have you been" is a very good story and is much darker than "Smooth Talk" but if you are a fan of the story, check this out to compare.

The really remarkable thing about Smooth Talk is just how true to life it is. Whilst I haven't been a teenage girls in the 1980s, I am currently a teenager. And let me just say that this is EXACTLY how it feels to be one. I can't count all the times that I've seen movies like High School Musical or Sixteen Candles, where the insights into teenage life are about as deep as a kiddie pool. Smooth Talk, on the other hand, paints a realistic portrait of how it feels to chase after people because it feels like the most important thing to have a partner. It gives insight into teenager's troubled relationships with their parents, and (very intelligently) doesn't entirely put the blame on either party. Everything from the acting to the writing to the directing just screams "this is what it's like to be a teenager." And frankly, it earns the right to do so.

That's how the first two thirds of the film are, with stakes about as high as any other teen movie. But then the last act changes things up a bit. It sneaks up on you, and without realizing it you were lured into a false sense of security. But Smooth Talk's goal isn't to be a fun teen film: it's to show you what it's really like to be a teenage girl. So the dark side of reality sets in during the last half hour, and you are left with more empathy for women than you came in with. This is the power of films: they can put you in the shoes of someone like no other medium. And Smooth Talk takes full advantage of that.

Overall, Smooth Talk is smarter than most teen movies, but no less interesting. I'd recommend it to anyone: kids wanting to see what it's like to be a teenager, adults wanting to revisit the past, and teens who just want to see themselves on screen.

Final Score: 84/100.