Smooth Talk | 
| Director: Joyce Chopra
Actors: Treat Williams, Laura Dern, Mary Kay Place, Margaret Welsh, Sara Inglis
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $5.75
You Save: $9.23 (62%)
New (38) Used (16) from $4.33
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 9469
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 92 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: D1007439D
ISBN: 0792863364
UPC: 027616915207
EAN: 9780792863366
ASIN: B00062IVLW
Theatrical Release Date: February 28, 1986
Release Date: December 7, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Laura Dern stars in this sensitive and beautifullydirected picture (The Wall Street Journal ) about the joysand perils of growing up in small-town America whereinnocence can be lost in the blink of an eye.System Requirements: Running Time 92 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG-13 UPC: 027616915207 Manufacturer No: 1007439
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 College English Class Project April 30, 2009
Richard Connolly (Weymouth, MA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I teach English and writing at a community college and used Smooth Talk in contrast to the short story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates.
Except for the ending, the film follows the original work but also explores more fully the relationships in Connie's life. Given that the movie first aired in 1986, it is unlikely that the public would have accepted onscreen a depiction of the violence inflicted by Arnold in Oates' version.
While discussing the short story, my students and I engaged in an electrifying exchange of ideas about Connie's innocence or lack thereof. All cited from the text to support their positions, most of which argued that she was sexually active and used her beauty to attract older boys.
Another student and I took the opposite position with equally strong evidence and passion. The movie resolves this issue when Arnold tells Connie that he knows she is a virgin.
For their research paper, students chose one of three topics, a biography of Oates, the true story behind the fictional work, and Smooth Talk, all done on line and properly cited and sourced.
The final project consisted of teams of three - one member from each topic - teaching the class via a multi-media, ten-minute presentation, again properly cited and sourced.
Based on the energy, interest, and quality of the work, this two-part assignment was the best educational experience of the course.
For full details, see homepage.mac.com/mr_connolly
Refer to Materials > Research Project.
 Smooth? March 9, 2009
Andrew Ellington (Mulholland Drive)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
While I felt that the end result was far from bad, there are a lot of things within `Smooth Talk' that I just don't like; bringing the film down to mediocre at best. It's not that there aren't stellar moments, especially within the performances, but overall I felt that the film's construction was weak and thus the overall film is weak.
I have not read the short story from which this film is adapted, so I cannot say how faithful (plenty of reviews say otherwise) it is, and so that is not one of my complaints. In fact, most all my issues are technical ones. Like, for instance, the music was a horrid choice. It gave it an almost B-Movie feel, or worse yet, a soap opera feel. Speaking of, the films pace and construction made it feel like a made for TV movie; like a `Lifetime' movie of sorts. It never feels genuine but carries a layer of camp to it. Speaking of (second use of that phrase), the final moments which are supposed to illicit some sort of fear and or misery tend to be overdone (especially on the part of Treat Williams who is just annoying) and so that dread is absent, leaving way for camp to set it.
Anyways, the film tells of young fifteen year old Connie who discovers herself at a local burger place. Well, I guess that is over simplifying it a bit. She lives in the shadow of her older, perfect sister and she suffers under the sharp eye of her defeated mother. She feels hated and alone and so this moves her to act out, seeking attention from boys who find her attractive and deem her rather easy.
The film moves around at an almost stagnant pace for a while, allowing us to see Connie in various compromising situations without really letting anything happen that sustains our interest. Then all of a sudden this guy who we have seen briefly throughout the film makes his advancements to Connie in a rather strange way and we are supposed to be drawn into her ultimate decision.
Sad to say I wasn't.
The bright spots here come in the form of Laura Dern and Mary Kay Place who make the very most of their cliched characters. As the overbearing mother and the rebellious teenager they do good, keeping us interested (as best they can) and delivering memorable performances. The rest of the cast is either forgettable or laughable (see Treat Williams). I can't say I'd recommend this to anyone any time soon, but a most people seem to either love or hate this film, so if you are one of the ones who loves it than great for you. I don't hate it, but I surely don't love it.
 Lolita-1980's style. September 18, 2008
Doug Anderson (Miami Beach, Florida United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The cinematography is a real pleasure for the eye. Some of the scenes of the old farmhouse, the sky, and Connie (Laura Dern) just sitting on a porch swing doing nothing but musing to herself are exquisitely composed.
There are some awkward scenes in this film version of the famous Joyce Carol Oates story, "Where are you going? Where have you been?", mainly because the original short story was set in the 1950's and the film is set in the 1980's thus the James Dean posters in Connie's room, the fact that Arnold Friend (Treat Williams) is a James Dean look-a-like who drives a muscle car, and that all the high school kids hang out at the local drive-in seem out of place in the 1980's. And yet, even with the anachronisms, as an evocation of a certain time of life it still works.
Granted, most of the film is pretty much just a set up for the climactic smooth talking seduction scene that arrives very late in the film but that one scene is tremendous and well worth the wait.
The film does not go where the Oates' story went, rather it leaves things up in the air and allows the viewer to interpret the climactic scene in a number of ways. The not knowing whether anything did happen or not is strangely powerful though (and, as others have mentioned, Oates' herself approved of the ending).
My take on the ending: Its as if Connie has come up against someone capable of voicing and embodying her own inner desires and this experience allows her to confront as well as get a handle on the exact nature of those desires. So, its a coming-of-age moment (but one that may or may not have just been a fantasy).
The film has some definite weaknesses, but recommended because there are a handful of scenes that do capture that moment (here the summer between freshman and sophomore year) when some teenagers feel like they are ready to cross a certain threshold, but wise enough to realize that they are really not ready to actually cross it all the way. This film, cleverly, gives the viewer that exhilerating and frightening thrill of crossing into forbidden territory without actually having to go there.
So, recommended, but with a few qualifications.
The Star Was Born April 11, 2007
Galina (Virginia, USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Since I read Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" many years ago as a teenager myself (many Oates' works were translated to Russian - she was and I hope still is very popular there), I've been fascinated by it. I've read many Oates's stories and some of her novels but the 10 pages long story of 15 years old Connie, "shallow, vain, silly, hopeful, doomed-- but capable nonetheless of an unexpected gesture of heroism at the story's end" has stuck in my memory and I could never forget it. I was shocked to find out what the real story behind the fictional was.
When I found out that the story was adapted to the screen, I tried to find the movie, "Smooth Talk" (1985) directed by Joyce Chopra and I saw it finally last weekend. A disturbing coming of age drama, the winner of The Grand Jury Prize at 1986 features 18 years-old Laura Dern who appears innocent, gawky, and provocative all at once. Laura owns the film as a sultry woman-child who just began to realize the power of her sexual attractiveness during one long summer that would change her life forever. It does not surprise me a bit that Dern's next movie would be David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" where she played sweet and innocent Sandy and in a few years she would play her best role, Lula Fortune in his "Wild at Heart" (1990). The more I think of Laura, the more I see her as one of the most talented actresses of her generation. She is fearless in taking sometimes unflattering roles and she never lost that aura of innocence wrapped in irresistible sexuality that made her Connie in "Smooth Talk" so alive and unforgettable.
Great acting Great movie December 28, 2005
S. Mitchell (Tyler, TX United States)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I am a senior citizen but this story and the acting brought up the feelings of when I was a teenager. A real tour de force IMO of what happens to a young girl and her awakening..the manipulation. The confused thoughts that are going thru her mind.
Old or young viewer can feel the emotion in both Treet Williams and Laura Dern as she both struggles with good and bad while he twists and turns to control her.
A small slice of life, but true and with excellent feeling.
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