Smooth Talk
1985 | 91m | English
Popularity: 0.6 (history)
| Director: | Joyce Chopra |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Cole |
| Staring: |
| 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: | Sep 21, 1985 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Joyce Chopra |
| Writer: | Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Cole |
| Genres: | Drama, Thriller |
| Keywords | coming of age, teenage girl, summer, sexual awakening, woman director, female sexuality, loss of innocence |
| Production Companies | Goldcrest, American Playhouse, Nepenthe Productions, Palmyra Films |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 02, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Mark McKay | Bobby King |
| Carl Mueller | Mall Boy |
| Michael French | Stan |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Joyce Carol Oates | Novel |
| Patrick Dodd | Editor |
| Mary Colquhoun | Casting |
| George Massenburg | Original Music Composer |
| Bill Payne | Original Music Composer |
| Natalie Mucyn | Makeup Artist |
| Carol DePasquale | Script Supervisor |
| Tom Cole | Screenplay |
| Carol Oditz | Costume Design |
| Robert Joyce | Set Decoration |
| Lynn Marie Curreri | Hairstylist |
| Ann Brebner | Casting Associate |
| Mary M. Ensign | Production Manager |
| Dan Gillham | Gaffer |
| Douglas Murray | Sound Editor |
| Stephen Balliet | Boom Operator |
| Philip Perkins | Production Sound Mixer |
| Dennie Thorpe | Foley Artist |
| Mark Levinson | Assistant Sound Editor |
| Joyce Chopra | Director |
| James Glennon | Director of Photography |
| David Wasco | Production Design |
| Russ Kunkel | Original Music Composer |
| Craig Haagensen | Camera Operator |
| Rocky Capella | Stunt Coordinator |
| Gwendolyn Yates Whittle | Assistant Sound Editor |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Timothy Marx | Associate Producer |
| Lindsay Law | Executive Producer |
| Martin Rosen | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 12 | 21 | 5 |
| 2024 | 5 | 13 | 27 | 7 |
| 2024 | 6 | 11 | 38 | 4 |
| 2024 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 6 |
| 2024 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 4 |
| 2024 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 3 |
| 2024 | 10 | 9 | 18 | 4 |
| 2024 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| 2024 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Trending Position
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 d ... eeply 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.