Back to trending
The Elder Son

The Elder Son

Romance · Comedy · Drama · 2006

A thief on the run convinces a single father that he is his long-lost son. Complications ensue when he falls in love with his newfound "sister".

Movie details

The Elder Son

2006 Romance · Comedy · Drama 1h 24m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

A thief on the run convinces a single father that he is his long-lost son. Complications ensue when he falls in love with his newfound "sister".

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 Elder Son?

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.

XX/XY

XX/XY

Drama · 2002

Three friends begin a dangerous three-way relationship that spirals out of control, leading to dire consequences that haunt them ten years later.

Jack Goes Boating

Jack Goes Boating

Comedy · 2010

A limo driver's blind date sparks a tale of love, betrayal, friendship and grace—centered on two working-class New York City couples.

Breaking & Exiting

Breaking & Exiting

Comedy · 2018

Harry, a charming house thief, gets more than he bargains for during an attempted burglary when he stumbles upon Daisy and decides to save her from herself, sending both of them into a darkly comedic journey of self discovery and love.

Cyrus

Cyrus

Comedy · 2010

With John's social life at a standstill and his ex-wife about to get remarried, a down on his luck divorcée finally meets the woman of his dreams, only to discover she has another man in her life - her son. Before long, the two are locked in a battle of wits for the woman they both love-and it appears only one man can be left standing when it's over.

Strictly Sexual

Strictly Sexual

Drama · 2008

Two successful women, sick and tired of dating and relationships, decide to keep two young men in their pool house for strictly sexual purposes.

Numb

Numb

Comedy · 2007

Hudson Milbank is a successful Hollywood screenwriter who suddenly and strangely finds himself without any emotional feelings. He tries doctor after doctor and shrink after shrink, but nothing works. The Golf Channel, lesbian exercise classes and a dizzying variety of pills get him through the day, but don't quite solve his problem. His writing partner tries everything to get him back to normal, but it's not until Hudson meets Sara that he finds a real motivation to get better and to actually start feeling again. From the writer of Deuce Bigalow, comes NUMB, a romantic comedy following an unusual man looking for strange love.

He Said, She Said

He Said, She Said

Comedy · 1991

Womanising, right-wing Dan Hanson and quiet, liberal Lorie Bryer work for the Baltimore Sun. Rivals for the job of new writer of a vacant column, the paper ends up instead printing their very different opinions alongside each other, which leads to a similarly combative local TV show. At the same time their initial indifference to each other looks like it may evolve into something more romantic.

The Good House

The Good House

Romance · 2021

When wry New England realtor Hildy Good rekindles a romance with her old high-school flame, Frank Getchell, it ignites long-buried emotions and family secrets that propel Hildy toward a reckoning with the one person she's been avoiding for decades: herself. Based on the best-selling novel by Ann Leary.

Young People Fucking

Young People Fucking

Comedy · 2007

On a Tuesday night, five couples have separate sexual adventures. Matt and Kris, friends for years, want to have an only-once, no-strings good time. Abby and Andrew, married, celebrate his birthday, but it's marred by angst and miscommunication. Mia and Eric are exes, making sure they are over each other. Jaime and Ken work together and this is a first date. Inez and Gord invite his roommate, Dave, to join them. By the time each couple has gone through a prelude, foreplay, sex, an interlude, orgasm, and afterglow, they've answered basic questions: can sex be anonymous, are we bored, is our marriage really finished, does anyone tell the truth, and how do we make someone happy?

Our Little Secret

Our Little Secret

Romance · 2024

After discovering their significant others are siblings, two resentful exes must spend Christmas under one roof — while hiding their romantic history.

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

Maryus Vaysberg

Written by

Maryus Vaysberg · Scott Sturgeon

Shane West

Shane West

Bo

Leelee Sobieski

Leelee Sobieski

Lolita

Eric Balfour

Eric Balfour

Skip

Rade Šerbedžija

Rade Šerbedžija

Max

Reiley McClendon

Reiley McClendon

Nikita

Ivana Miličević

Ivana Miličević

Tanya

Regina Hall

Regina Hall

Susan

Court is in session

Put The Elder Son 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.