History Film / SmoothTalk1985

* BareYourMidriff: One of Connie's most notable outfits is a cutoff halter top.

* AcceptableFeminineGoalsAndTraits: The film can be seen as a {{deconstruction}} of the cultural expectation that [[MenActWomenAre “girls should be raised to be nice and agreeable”]], which only leaves women vulnerable to harm and possible violence. Connie is left with a [[Catch22Dilemma catch-22 situation]] between being seen as desirable and being in danger.
* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler:It’s left unclear as to what Arnold Friend does to Connie; although she survives, she is changed by the experience]].
* AntagonisticOffspring: Connie and her mother Katherine clash over the former’s perceived immaturity and self-centeredness.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Jill stops by Connie’s house and tells her some guy on the road stopped to ask about her. Connie asks if the guy’s name was Jeff, whom she was with the previous night. Jill says it wasn’t, but before they can discuss it further Connie gets up and goes to play a song on the record player.

* IWantMyMommy: While huddled in a corner of the hallway as [[spoiler: Arnold starts to enter the house]], Connie cries to herself about wanting her mom.
* IWarnedYou: From the beginning of the film, Connie’s flirtations result in her either getting what she wants, or receiving unwanted male attention, which is initially played for laughs and is more or less harmless. But after butting heads with her mother over her going out at night to meet guys, Connie experiences a scary incident that marks a turning point in her life.

* LocalHangout: Frank’s, the roadside burger stand.

* MysteriousWatcher: Arnold is first seen checking Connie out and observing her through the diner windows, but we don’t learn of his identity until the second half of the film.
* ParentalFavoritism: June, Connie’s well-behaved older sister, appears to be the favorite. Connie’s mother emphasizes June is an angel to a friend right in front of Connie.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Arnold Friend’s big scene is under 25 minutes during the last half of the film, but it’s a menacingly memorable one.
* SneakingOutAtNight: Connie and her friend Laura use the excuse that they’re going to the movies as a cover for hanging out at the burger stand after dark. Later, they’re caught in a lie.

* AcceptableFeminineGoalsAndTraits: The film can be seen as a {{deconstruction}} of the cultural expectation that [[MenActWomenAre “girls should be raised to be nice and agreeable”]], which only leaves women vulnerable to harm and possible violence. Connie is left with a [[Catch22Dilemma catch-22 situation]] between being being seen as desirable and being in danger.

* ParentalFavoritism: June, Connie’s older sister, appears to be the favorite. Connie’s mother emphasizes June is an angel to a friend right in front of Connie.

* StalkerShot: Early scenes of Arnold show him observing a blissfully unaware Connie at the diner, coupled with some POV shots.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Connie is still alive at the end of the film, unlike the ambiguous fate in the short story]].

* AdultFear: [[spoiler: Being home alone in a farmhouse in a rural area, left to fend off the advances of a predator]].

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Arnold Friend’s big scene comes in the last 20 minutes of the film, and it’s a menacingly memorable one.

!!Tropes that appear in this film:

* ComingOfAgeStory
* {{Irony}}: The Music/JamesTaylor song "Handy Man", which appears throughout the film, speaks of sweet things and fixing broken hearts. It's quite out of step with the events of the film, where Arnold Friend doesn't engage in sweet talk, using coercion and threats instead, and Connie's never had a broken heart.

* {{Montage}}: There's one early in the film of Connie and her friends prettying themselves up at the mall, all to the tune of Music/JamesTaylor's "Is That The Way You Look?"

* BookEnds: A Music/JamesTaylor song is heard at the beginning and end of the film. "Limousine Driver" is heard during the opening, and "Hand Man" at the end.

Smooth Talk is a film from 1985 based on the story Literature/WhereAreYouGoingWhereHaveYouBeen. It stars Creator/LauraDern as Connie and Creator/TreatWilliams as Arnold Friend.

* BookEnds: A Music/JamesTaylor song is heard at the beginning and end of the film. "Limousine Driver" is heard during the opening, and "Handyman" at the end.

* {{Irony}}: The Music/JamesTaylor song "Handyman", which appears throughout the film, speaks of sweet things and fixing broken hearts. It's quite out of step with the events of the film, where Arnold Friend doesn't engage in sweet talk, using coercion and threats instead, and Connie's never had a broken heart.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Connie is still alive at the end of the film, unlike the ambiguous fate in the short story]].

Smooth Talk is a film from 1985 based on the story Literature/WhereAreYouGoingWhereHaveYouBeen. It stars Creator/LauraDern as Connie and Treat Williams as Arnold Friend.

* BookEnds: A Music/JamesTaylor song is heard at the beginning and end of the film. “Limousine Driver” is heard during the opening, and “Handyman” at the end.

* {{Montage}}: There's one early in the film of Connie and her friends prettying themselves up, all to the tune of Music/JamesTaylor's "Is That The Way You Look?"

* ChekhovsGunman: Arnold himself appears at the burger restaurant behind Connie, pointing at her and saying "I'm watchin' you."

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Connie is definitively still alive at the end of the film, unlike the ambiguous fate in the short story]].

Smooth Talk is a film from 1985 based on the story {{Literature/WhereAreYouGoingWhereHaveYouBeen}}.