Smart People

Ever since his wife's passing, Lawrence Wetherhold, an English Literature professor at Carnegie Mellon, has given up any pretense of caring about anyone, most of all his students and colleagues. His behavior has led to him having a strained relationship with his dorm-residing college student son James Wetherhold, while his overachieving high school student daughter, Vanessa Wetherhold, acts as his caregiver, which belies she being friendless in her acerbic nature, thus she as dependent upon him in providing this role as he is on her. Regardless, he, more in a measure of proving his own academic worth, still has aspirations of becoming Dean of the Department, which becomes more difficult when he is appointed Chair of the Search Committee. Taking measures to promote that worth, he also goes on a mission to find a publisher for some old research which he's turned into a book. After a somewhat self-provoked act leads to a medical issue resulting in his driving privileges being revoked for six months, he, without anyone else willingly to fill the position, invites his ne'er-do-well adoptive younger brother, Chuck Wetherhold, who he would otherwise avoid at all cost in being a proverbial leech, to move into the house to be his chauffeur. While Chuck living up to that task is still questionable, he moving in also leads to a somewhat tense situation with Vanessa. That medical situation also reunites Lawrence with Janet Hartigan, his ER doctor who he was initially unaware was one of his ex-students having had a crush on him at the time. Janet reentering his life has the potential to bring him back into the world of the living, that is if he can get over himself and what he sees as everyone else's problem.