Smooth Talk

(USA / 1985 / Directed by Joyce Chopra)

Director Joyce Chopra won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1986 for her adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” This 4K restoration features a breakout performance from Laura Dern as Connie, the fifteen-year-old familial black sheep whose summertime idyll of beach trips, mall hangouts, and innocent flirtations is shattered by an encounter with a mysterious stranger (Treat Williams).

It’s the summer before her sophomore year, and Connie is spending more time checking her outfits in the mirror, partying with friends at a hot dog joint, and lying to her mom about “going to the movies” than helping to paint her family’s farmhouse. She has confidence with boys her age and craves physical experience, but when an actual date leads to more than she anticipated, she flees from the boy’s car and calls her friend in a panic. Connie’s mother (Mary Kay Place) hears of her daughter’s flirtatious behavior and warns her to be careful, but her mom’s fears make Connie feel misunderstood and the two fall to bickering. One afternoon, their fighting triggers Connie to declare she’s staying home instead of going to a family barbecue. Alone on the farm, she’s visited by a man who says he’s been watching her. He dresses and acts like James Dean, but there’s something suspicious about him. As the film progresses, the ingredients of a standard coming-of-age portrait transform into something altogether more troubling and profound. Saturated in the glow and style of a 1980s summer, Smooth Talk captures an intimate glance into the yearnings of youth with lasting insights about mother-daughter dynamics, small town tensions, transgression, and social silence.

PG-13 / 1 hr 32 mins.