Miramax – at least during the Weinstein era – gathered a pretty savage reputation both as careless acquirers of Asian film and hounds for Oscar-baiting prestige material. People tend to forget that they had some nice, smaller films – generally romantic comedies – that didn’t make too much noise.
Now, firmly in the post-Weinstein era, they still don’t really have an identity of their own – aside from being known for acquisitions more than anything homegrown – but they just picked up one of those small romantic films with a pleasant enough cast. Smart People stars Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, and Sarah Jessica Parker in the story of a widowed professor, his new love interest, and an adopted brother who comes back into his life.
Though he seems at times lately to have morphed into Harrison Ford (minus the grumpy mumbling), Quaid has always been a rock solid fave of mine, and I enjoyed him exploring similar territory with In Good Company. Church made an impressive showing in Sideways, and Parker pretty much lives in RomComLand, so the cast is well-suited to make this kind of film work.
The film is slated for a fall release this year.