Smooth Talk

Audience Reviews

View More

Mike P @RT09890132 Jul 26, 2026 Powerful Coming of Age and "Horrors of Adolescence" movie, (one of the best, actually), finds a mid-eighties and 15ish Laura Dern, as Connie, who seems to be flirting with disaster, even as the movie opens; and then trouble does indeed find her by the end... It's based on a Joyce Carol Oates story, ("Where Are You Going/Where Have You Been"), which is based on a real life murder case, (of Tuscon-killer Charles Schmid)...And although director Joyce Chopra doesn't change a word of dialogue from the central scene in the story, that is Connie's fateful encounter with the sexy but dangerous Arnold Friend; the ending is completely different. This movie is more about the GROOMING that goes on in these scenarios. And it's both fascinating and terrifying to watch. Featuring absolutely first rate, brilliant performances by Laura Dern as the troubled Connie, and Treat Williams as the terrifying, enigmatic Arnold... (He's a great villain here!) Great movie and highly recommended. See more

Richard B @RichardB12314 Mar 9, 2026 I really liked the photography that made the 1980s seem like it was yesterday. The story is of a girl losing interest in her family out of suffocation, but she's now in a dangerous world of boys and men that she doesn't know. Laura Dern turned in a good performance, but she looked too old to be a minor. If it was biologically accurately cast, Treat Williams would be even more creepy than he actually is. It's a cautionary tale that we should appreciate the good relationships we actually have and realize that what's new and novel isn't always better. See more

Dinah H @RT29170748 Nov 29, 2025 Honestly the ending of this was better than the short story but the movie was a little off for me. See more

Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 4, 2025 Failure in 1 hour and 32 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more

Michael C @RT52951401 Dec 18, 2024 Date rap at its finest. Yuck! See more

Jun 9, 2021 I saw this movie when it came out in 1985 and just recently saw it again. What a difference 35 years make. When I first saw it, I thought Treat Williams was fantastic, destined to be a star. This time around, I thought his acting was overwrought, a little too mannered. This time around, it is Laura Dern who is fantastic as a teen chafing against her family on the one hand, and a nervous, giggly, anxious, girls-just-want-to-have-fun teenager on the other. She's sexually curious but hesitant. That is, until she is relentlessly pursued by the enigmatic Wiliams, simultaneously threatening and seductive. She engages him skeptically from behind a screen door until she reluctantly agrees to go for a ride in his muscle car. We next see the car parked in the country without the couple and we left to wonder when she returns gratefully engaging her family. See more

Read all reviews

Smooth Talk

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING