Trivia / Smooth Talk (1985)

• While filming, a then teenaged Laura Dern was convinced that when her character Connie gets into the car with Arnold, she does not actually get raped (even though the movie strongly implies otherwise). Upon its release, Dern restated her belief in an interview that the characters just went for a drive. Many years later, Dern said that her role in the 2018 film The Tale, where she plays an adult who comes to realize a childhood sexual experience was in fact, abuse, prompted her to reevaluate the Smooth Talk ending. Dern said in hindsight, her earlier belief was naive and confirmed Arnold sexually assaulted Connie.