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 New Romantic
Drama · Comedy · 2018
In order to escape her looming post-graduation fate that includes student debt and zero romantic prospects, Blake Conway becomes a sugar baby. As the aspiring journalist and hopeless romantic documents the adventure, she sets out on a quest to figure out if society is right to judge these women and if her own self worth comes with a price.
Movie details
The New Romantic
2018 Drama · Comedy 1h 22m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
In order to escape her looming post-graduation fate that includes student debt and zero romantic prospects, Blake Conway becomes a sugar baby. As the aspiring journalist and hopeless romantic documents the adventure, she sets out on a quest to figure out if society is right to judge these women and if her own self worth comes with a price.
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 New Romantic?
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.
Hooking Up
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Bailey and Darla embark upon a misguided and mutually deceitful form of therapy, one in which they must drive across the country, re-enacting Darla's colorful history as a sex addict. As their true motivations for the road trip come to light, the unlikely pair force one another to confront their issues, discovering that there might actually be more to love than just sex.
Riding in Cars with Boys
Drama · 2001
In 1965, a young woman with dreams of becoming a writer has a son at the age of 15 and struggles to make things work with the drug-addicted father.
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?
Moxie
Comedy · 2021
Inspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy 16-year-old publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.
Teen Spirit
Music · 2019
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
Life
Drama · 2015
In 1955, young photographer Dennis Stock develops a close bond with actor James Dean while shooting pictures of the rising Hollywood star.
Benny & Joon
Comedy · 1993
A mentally ill young woman finds love with an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
My Dinner with Hervé
Drama · 2018
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
TalhotBlond
Drama · 2012
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Skin
Drama · 2009
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Carly Stone
Written by
Carly Stone · Kyle Mann
Jessica Barden
Blake Conway
Hayley Law
Nikki Morrison
Brett Dier
Jacob
Avan Jogia
River Dewan
Timm Sharp
Ian Brooks
Camila Mendes
Morgan Cruise
Ivy Matheson
Woman
Court is in session
Put The New Romantic 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.