Back to trending
Better Living Through Chemistry

Better Living Through Chemistry

Drama · Comedy · 2014

A straight-laced pharmacist's uneventful life spirals out of control when he starts an affair with a trophy wife customer who takes him on a joyride involving sex, drugs and possibly murder.

Movie details

Better Living Through Chemistry

“Happiness has no formula”

2014 Drama · Comedy 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

A straight-laced pharmacist's uneventful life spirals out of control when he starts an affair with a trophy wife customer who takes him on a joyride involving sex, drugs and possibly murder.

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 Better Living Through Chemistry?

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.

CQ

CQ

Comedy · 2001

A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.

Class

Class

Comedy · 1983

Naive Midwestern prep student Jonathan bonds with his more worldly roommate, Skip, who takes the small-town boy under his wing. At Skip's urging, the inexperienced Jonathan is emboldened to seek out older women in the cocktail lounges of nearby Chicago, where he meets and beds the alluring Ellen, who unfortunately turns out to be Skip's mother. The division between the friends is further deepened when a cheating scandal engulfs the school.

Celebrity

Celebrity

Drama · 1998

The career and personal life of writer Lee are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife, Robin, and dives into a new job as an entertainment journalist. His assignments take him to the swankiest corners of Manhattan, but as he jumps from one lavish party to another and engages in numerous empty romances, he starts to doubt the worth of his work. Meanwhile, top TV producer Tony falls for Robin and introduces her to the world of celebrity.

Landline

Landline

Comedy · 2017

A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.

Almost Friends

Almost Friends

Drama · 2017

A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.

Family Weekend

Family Weekend

Comedy · 2013

A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.

Friendship

Friendship

Comedy · 2025

Suburban dad Craig falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor Austin, and his attempts to make an adult male friend threatens to ruin both of their lives.

Daddy Longlegs

Daddy Longlegs

Drama · 2010

After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.

Small Apartments

Small Apartments

Comedy · 2012

When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.

The House of Tomorrow

The House of Tomorrow

Drama · 2019

The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

David Posamentier · Geoff Moore

Written by

Geoff Moore · David Posamentier

Sam Rockwell

Sam Rockwell

Douglas Varney

Michelle Monaghan

Michelle Monaghan

Kara Varney

Olivia Wilde

Olivia Wilde

Elizabeth Roberts

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda

Pharmacy Customer

Ray Liotta

Ray Liotta

Jack Roberts

Norbert Leo Butz

Norbert Leo Butz

Agent Andrew Carp

Ben Schwartz

Ben Schwartz

Noah

Court is in session

Put Better Living Through Chemistry on trial.

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

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.

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.