'Smart?' Yes. Captivating? Not so much

The new dramedy "Smart People" pulls a muscle trying to capture that "Little Miss Sunshine" vibe. You know the drill - dysfunctional family feuds leavened by snarky humor. In essence, the mood most indies try to achieve.

But while "Sunshine" warmed our cockles with its family crack-ups, "Smart People" leaves us intermittently cold.

Dennis Quaid, wearing what seems to be a faux paunch, plays a widowed professor named Lawrence whose personal life is crumbling all around him. His smarty-pants daughter (Ellen Page) won't let him date. His ne'er do well brother (Thomas Haden Church, the life of the movie) can't be counted on for anything except reminding Lawrence what a grouch he is. And his attempts to woo a local doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker) appear doomed from the start.

Quaid's performance borders on overkill, what will his perpetually stooped shoulders and a posture that throws his belly out for the world to inspect. But he's too good an actor to get tripped up by his such actorly miscues.

Church's scenes hint at the movie "Smart People" might have been had more attention been paid to the relationships on display. The audience is left with too many unanswered questions. Just why does Parker's character fall for this wreck of a professor? Why do the Page and Church characters grow apart?

"Smart People" bears all the trappings of a modestly budgeted film … the too-precious soundtrack, the casting of name players alongside indie darlings. But it takes more than the sum of such ingredients to conjure that "Sunshine" feeling.

(Photo: Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church ponder life in Indieland in "Smart People")