Thomas Haden Church and Dennis Quaid relad in "Smart People."

In cinema, there are two categories of mediocre.

On one hand you have films that just aren't very good, but are still moderately enjoyable.

On the other are such films as "Smart People." They have everything going for them, but somehow can't pull themselves above the mire of so-so movies.

"Smart People" centers on Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid), a widowed, crusty Carnegie Mellon professor whose disdain for his students, co-workers and the general public has made him far more enemies than friends.

He's become the head of his department and is trying to sell a book, but he's lost sight of his own children.

Daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page of "Juno") is trying to ace the SATs, while son James (Ashton Holmes, "A History of Violence") is a college freshman just starting to experience the joys of adult life.

Then a head injury leaves the professor unable to drive and puts him in the care of a physician (Sarah Jessica Parker) who once was a student of his, but who changed her major because of his criticism.

Enter Lawrence's freewheeling adopted brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church of "Spider-Man 3"), who usually comes around only to borrow money. This time he needs room and board.

Quaid's character is almost exclusively unlikable, and the bland Parker is less than endearing.

From the start, they seem like a mismatched, joyless couple, which doesn't change throughout the film.

Overall, though, the actors have great chemistry. There are times where they carry otherwise lackluster scenes to greater heights than they deserve.

Page, an icon of modern feminism in "Juno," plays a Ronald Reagan-worshipping conservative.

Church again reveals himself to be one of today's more underrated character actors, working behind a great mustache and an attitude to match.

Noam Murro, in his directorial debut, can't decide how heady he likes his comedy. For each bit of cerebral humor, there seems to be a half-hearted bit of slapstick, including a needlessly bare butt.

There are some nice moments. In one, Vanessa schemes with Chuck to donate her late mother's clothes to Goodwill. He wants to give his brother closure; she yearns for a tax writeoff.

But it's just enough to make you feel that much worse about the sad and underwhelming product we've been given.