The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Nutcrackers
Drama · Comedy · 2024
Just as Mike is on the heels of closing the biggest deal of his career, he's pulled away from his bachelor life in the big city to a farm in rural Ohio in order to help his recently orphaned nephews find a new home.
Movie details
Nutcrackers
“The holidays can drive you nuts.”
2024 Drama · Comedy 1h 44m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.9 / 10
Community rating
Just as Mike is on the heels of closing the biggest deal of his career, he's pulled away from his bachelor life in the big city to a farm in rural Ohio in order to help his recently orphaned nephews find a new home.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Nutcrackers?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Nothing in Common
Drama · 1986
A successful advertising executive finds his freewheeling life crashing to a halt when his parents end their longtime marriage.
Almost Christmas
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A dysfunctional family gathers together for their first Christmas since the death of their matriarch.
A Dog Year
Comedy · 2009
Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined because of abuse. Despite a series of mishaps, Jon decides to keep trying with the dog, and he rents a dilapidated farm house to give the dog room to run. A local handyman refers Jon to a woman who might be able to help him train the dog. Reluctantly, Jon gives her a try. Is the dog the problem, or the owner?
The Middle Man
Comedy · 2021
Frank Farrelli takes on the job as a middle man in the God-forsaken town of Karmack, USA, a community in a depression so deep that they need a middle man to professionally communicate more of the bad news.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Comedy · 2008
When a celebrated TV show host returns to his hometown in the South, his family is there to remind him that going home is no vacation!
Goodrich
Comedy · 2024
Andy Goodrich's life is upended when his wife enters a rehab program, leaving him on his own with their young kids. Goodrich leans on his daughter from his first marriage, Grace, as he ultimately evolves into the father Grace never had.
Mr. Mom
Comedy · 1983
Jack and Caroline are a couple making a decent living when Jack suddenly loses his job. They agree that he should stay at home and look after the house while Caroline works. It's just that he's never done it before, and really doesn't have a clue...
Second Best
Drama · 1994
The difficult relationship between a british postal officer and his adoptive son.
My One and Only
Comedy · 2009
A mother takes her two sons on an unusual road trip from New York to Pittsburgh, St. Louis and eventually Hollywood in her quest to find a man to take care of them all.
Disaster Holiday
Comedy · 2024
A workaholic dad, trying to win over his kids, heads to the coast of Durban for a big work meeting — under the guise of a family road trip vacation.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
David Gordon Green
Written by
Leland Douglas
Ben Stiller
Mike Maxwell
Linda Cardellini
Gretchen Rice
H
Homer Janson
Justice Kicklighter
U
Ulysses Janson
Junior Kicklighter
A
Arlo Janson
Simon Kicklighter
A
Atlas Janson
Samuel Kicklighter
Toby Huss
Al Wilmington
Court is in session
Put Nutcrackers on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.