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Cecil B. Demented

Cecil B. Demented

Comedy · Crime · 2000

A young lunatic director and his devoted cult of cinema terrorists kidnap a Hollywood movie goddess and force her to star in their radical underground movie.

Movie details

Cecil B. Demented

“Demented forever!”

2000 Comedy · Crime 1h 28m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

A young lunatic director and his devoted cult of cinema terrorists kidnap a Hollywood movie goddess and force her to star in their radical underground movie.

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 Cecil B. Demented?

The 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.

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Little Murders

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A young nihilistic New Yorker copes with pervasive urban violence, obscene phone calls, rusty water pipes, electrical blackouts, paranoia, and ethnic-racial conflict during a typical summer of the 1970s.

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One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public’s adulation with their mind-bending spectacles, the Four Horsemen resurface only to find themselves face to face with a new enemy who enlists them to pull off their most dangerous heist yet.

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

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Palmetto

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After being released from prison on a bum charge, Harry Barber is out for payback to regain his lost two years. He's hired by Mrs. Malroux to fake the kidnapping of her stepdaughter (the daughter of a dying millionaire). He discovers that he is being set up on multiple levels and will soon face a longer sentence if he doesn't prove the truth.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Waters

Written by

John Waters

Melanie Griffith

Melanie Griffith

Honey Whitlock

Stephen Dorff

Stephen Dorff

Cecil B. Demented

Alicia Witt

Alicia Witt

Cherish

Adrian Grenier

Adrian Grenier

Lyle

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Raven

Lawrence Gilliard Jr.

Lawrence Gilliard Jr.

Lewis

Jack Noseworthy

Jack Noseworthy

Rodney

Court is in session

Put Cecil B. Demented on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.