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 Noel Diary
Romance · Comedy · Drama · 2022
Cleaning out his childhood home at Christmas, a novelist meets a woman searching for her birth mother. Will an old diary unlock their pasts — and hearts?
Movie details
The Noel Diary
2022 Romance · Comedy · Drama 1h 39m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
Cleaning out his childhood home at Christmas, a novelist meets a woman searching for her birth mother. Will an old diary unlock their pasts — and hearts?
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 Noel Diary?
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.
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Father of the Bride
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A father comes to grips with his daughter’s upcoming wedding through the prism of multiple relationships within a big, sprawling Cuban-American family.
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A California Christmas
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A Royal Queens Christmas
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A prince finds his way to Queens during Christmas when a local woman enlists his help with a children's Christmas show.
Picture a Perfect Christmas
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A Christmas Wish
Romance · 2019
Every December in the small town of Ponchatoula, Louisiana a wooden wishing box is placed in the park as a Christmas tradition. After a night out together, Maddie encourages her sister Faith to put a wish in the box - a wish to experience true love for the first time. Faith and Maddie are surprised the next day when she meets the very handsome and eligible Andrew. As Christmas nears, Faith begins to wonder if Andrew is really perfect for her, or if the wish is leading her to her best friend, Wyatt.
Coyote Creek Christmas
TV Movie · 2021
While throwing a "Christmas Around the World" party at her family's inn, an event planner discovers Christmas magic with a charming father-son duo whose presence brings about tension and joy.
A California Christmas: City Lights
Romance · 2021
Follows Callie and Joseph one year after they fell in love, now running a dairy farm and winery, but their romance is threatened when business and family obligations call Joseph back to the city.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Charles Shyer
Written by
Charles Shyer · David Golden · Rebecca Connor
Justin Hartley
Jacob Turner
Barrett Doss
Rachel Campbell
Bonnie Bedelia
Ellie Foster
Essence Atkins
Noel Hayden
James Remar
Scott Turner
Aaron Costa Ganis
Matt Segreto
Jeff Corbett
Ian Page
Court is in session
Put The Noel Diary 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.