An ensemble, coming-of-age piece, the film follows a group of young members of a South Carolina Baptist church as they confront issues of homosexuality and a crisis of faith.

Brea, Laura, and Tim are three high school seniors and close friends connected by their South Carolina Baptist church.

Austin begins to confront his own feelings of homosexuality, even privately exchanging an awkward kiss with Tim during a house party.

Elizabeth continues to struggle with her husband's lack of sex and embarrasses herself at a party after flirting with the church's married prospective youth director Dylan.

[3] Cone, the son of a Baptist minister, described elements of the film as semi-autobiographical, saying that he "experienced some of it, and some of it is speculation and curiosity, wondering about people [he] grew up with.

[8] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and described its handling of the subject matter as "honest, observant, and subtle.

"[6] Robert Koehler of Variety called the performers "a brilliant cast of young actors" and said of the film, "Most impressively, this is an ensemble piece in which no boogeymen are permitted, everyone is observed in shades of gray, and the easy out of making fun of true believers is simply not in the cards.

"[9] Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the film as "... a guileless exploration of the growing pains of sheltered innocents whose reticence and sincerity evoke 1950s small-town values" and added, "The performances all capture the perplexity of sexually repressed people who are trying to do the proper Christian thing while coping with unruly desires that they recognize as challenges to their way of life.

"[10] Melissa Anderson of The Village Voice was slightly more critical, commenting, "The Wise Kids suffers from a theater workshop-y tendency to rest too long on pauses and silences to convey dramatic heft.

But the blunder is ultimately overshadowed by Cone's excellent young actors, particularly Torem, burrowing deeply into her character's zealotry and anguish about being left behind.