
Connie, the fifteen-year-old black sheep of her family, finds her summertime idyll of beach trips, mall hangouts, and innocent flirtations shattered by an encounter with a mysterious stranger.
Release Date: 11/17/1985
Runtime: 92 minutes
Languages: English
Director: Joyce Chopra
00Companies: Palmyra Films, American Playhouse, Goldcrest, Nepenthe Productions
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom
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Based on a short story by Joyce Carol Oates called "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", "Smooth Talk" stars Laura Dern as a bored and restless adolescent who thinks she's more in control of her sexual allure, and more capable of handling the attention she receives for it, than she is. In a deeply unsettling and slightly surreal scene, a hunky stranger (Treat Williams) comes calling for her, and she realizes that she's not as mature as she thinks. The film captures the same other-worldly quality of the short story (the scene with Treat Williams plays out almost like a feverish dream), while ably adapting it to the very different needs of a feature length film. Dern gives a wonderful performance, one of many given by this underrated actress.

Laura Dern
Connie Wyatt

Treat Williams
Arnold Friend

Mary Kay Place
Katherine Wyatt

Levon Helm
Harry Wyatt

Elizabeth Berridge
June Wyatt

Margaret Welsh
Laura Condon
Sara Inglis
Jill O'Mara

William Ragsdale
Jeff
Geoff Hoyle
Ellie Oscar
David Berridge
Eddie Hunter
Cab Covay
Cab Driver

Joy Carlin
Laura's Mother
2017