Smooth Talk

Play trailer

Smooth Talk

PG-13,

1985,

1h 32m,

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

93%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

46%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

46%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Fifteen-year-old Connie (Laura Dern) spends the summer before her sophomore year fixating on getting male attention. While her mother, Katherine (Mary Kay Place), nags her about painting the house and favors her older sister, Connie spends her days going to the mall with her friends. One day, while the rest of her family is having a barbecue, Connie is confronted at home by a handsome, dangerous stranger, Arnold Friend (Treat Williams), who has been watching her.

Critics Consensus

Elevated by Laura Dern's haunting performance, Smooth Talk is far more than your average coming-of-age drama.

Read Critics Reviews

Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

Nov 26, 2023

3.5/4

The strained mother-daughter relationship in ''Smooth Talk'' is one of the film's highlights, suggesting that envy often translates into hostility.

Go to Full Review

Sheila Benson

Los Angeles Times

Nov 26, 2023

What makes Laura Dern’s performance the event that it is--one of the finest, most sustained and most shatteringly observed we’ve had this year... it’s rare to have this variety of insights about adolescence from an actress so nearly that age herself.

Go to Full Review

Rita Kempley

Washington Post

Nov 26, 2023

Not just another youth movie, but a deft dramatization of a Joyce Carol Oates story adapted by a couple of documentary filmmakers in their feature debut.

Go to Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Feb 13, 2024

Williams walks a fine line between total creep and smooth operator in a film that similarly explores the liminal space between fear and desire during female adolescence.

Go to Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Feb 28, 2022

FIVE STARS

...an apt response to America's puritanical mindset that still refuses to responsibly address sex education.

Go to Full Review

David Harris

Spectrum Culture

Sep 14, 2021

Cultural landmarks of time past, cruising the shopping mall and checking out other teens without an iPhone, pinpoint the film to a specific time and place. But the themes of teenage ennui transcend time.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Theodore G

Apr 6, 2017

An impressive early performance from Laura Dern in this disturbing '80s coming of age drama.

Luke R

Feb 28, 2017

An interesting commentary on loss of virginity and peer pressure. I would have loved the tone to be more consistent throughout - a very difficult and delicate subject to capture, turning it into a thriller cheapened it in a way.

See more

Read all reviews

Joyce Chopra

Director

Laura Dern

Connie

Treat Williams

Arnold Friend

Mary Kay Place

Katherine

Margaret Welsh

Laura

Sara Inglis

Jill

I Ought to Be in Pictures

80%

43%

I Ought to Be in Pictures

Watchlist

The Buddy System

50%

The Buddy System

Watchlist

Just One of the Guys

50%

65%

Just One of the Guys

Watchlist

The Super

0%

42%

The Super

Watchlist

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas

14%

55%

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Connie (Laura Dern) spends the summer before her sophomore year fixating on getting male attention. While her mother, Katherine (Mary Kay Place), nags her about painting the house and favors her older sister, Connie spends her days going to the mall with her friends. One day, while the rest of her family is having a barbecue, Connie is confronted at home by a handsome, dangerous stranger, Arnold Friend (Treat Williams), who has been watching her.

Director: Joyce Chopra
Producer: Martin Rosen
Screenwriter: Tom Cole
Distributor: International Spectrafilm
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 17, 1985, Original
Release Date (DVD): Dec 7, 2004
Runtime: 1h 32m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings