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.
Back to trending 
The Thing Called Love
Drama · Romance · Music · 1993
A group of newcomers to the country music business seek love and stardom.
Movie details
The Thing Called Love
“Stand by your dream.”
1993 Drama · Romance · Music 1h 56m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
A group of newcomers to the country music business seek love and stardom.
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 The Thing Called Love?
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.
Petulia
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London
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The Man from Elysian Fields
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A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service, where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
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When Tyler Davidson brings his college buddy Chase home for the summer holidays a secret is revealed that threatens to tear his perfect family apart.
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Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Below Her Mouth
Drama · 2017
An unexpected affair quickly escalates into a heart-stopping reality for two women whose passionate connection changes their lives forever.
Monster's Ball
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Where it lives
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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Peter Bogdanovich
Written by
Carol Heikkinen
River Phoenix
James Wright
Samantha Mathis
Miranda Presley
Dermot Mulroney
Kyle Davidson
Sandra Bullock
Linda Lue Linden
Anthony Clark
Billy
Deborah Allen
Deborah Allen
K
K.T. Oslin
Lucy
Court is in session
Put The Thing Called Love 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.