
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.
6.3
65 reviewsRuntime: 92 min.
Budget: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Release Date: 1985-09-21
Director(s): Joyce Chopra
Production: Palmyra Films, American Playhouse, Goldcrest, Nepenthe Productions
Languages: English
IMDB: tt0090037
Where to Watch
Data from JustWatch
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.