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 
Max Dugan Returns
Comedy · Drama · Family · 1983
An English teacher and struggling single mother has her life disrupted when the father who abandoned her as a child comes back into her life.
Movie details
Max Dugan Returns
“Prices are double. Your love life's in trouble. The car won't start. Your boss has no heart. The door squeaks. The roof leaks. Your stereo just went mono. All you need is a little Max Dugan.”
1983 Comedy · Drama · Family 1h 38m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
An English teacher and struggling single mother has her life disrupted when the father who abandoned her as a child comes back into her life.
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 Max Dugan Returns?
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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A Simple Twist of Fate
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When Michael McCann is thrown over by the woman he loves, he becomes something of a misanthrope and a miser, spending all of his spare money on collectible gold coins. Living in the same town is an affluent family with two sons: John and Tanny. Tanny's a wild boy, whom John cannot control, and one night he breaks into McCann's house, and steals the gold and disappears, which nearly confirms McCann's distrust of mankind. But then, a mysterious young woman dies in the snow outside McCann's house, and her small daughter makes her way to McCann's house and into McCann's life and heart.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
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When a celebrated TV show host returns to his hometown in the South, his family is there to remind him that going home is no vacation!
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
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In a sleepy Louisiana parish, a group of lifelong friends stage a rather unorthodox intervention to help a young playwright unravel the truth about her complicated mother and let go of her painful past.
The Meddler
Comedy · 2016
With a new iPhone, an apartment near the Grove, and a comfortable bank account left to her by her beloved late husband, Marnie Minervini has happily relocated from New Jersey to Los Angeles to be near her daughter Lori, a successful (but still single) screenwriter, and smother her with motherly love. But when the dozens of texts, unexpected visits, and conversations dominated by unsolicited advice force Lori to draw strict personal boundaries, Marnie finds ways to channel her eternal optimism and forceful generosity to change the lives of others - as well as her own - and find a new purpose in life.
Nothing in Common
Drama · 1986
A successful advertising executive finds his freewheeling life crashing to a halt when his parents end their longtime marriage.
Three Wishes
Fantasy · 1995
While Jane Holman is driving with her two sons, she accidentally runs into a drifter, Jack McCloud, who breaks his leg. Being responsible, Jane invites Jack, and his dog, to stay at her home until his leg has healed. Jack struggles to adapt their lifestyle, and finds himself loved by the family.
Thunder Road
Comedy · 2018
A police officer faces a personal meltdown following a divorce and the death of his mother.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Herbert Ross
Written by
Neil Simon
Marsha Mason
Nora McPhae
Jason Robards
Max Dugan
Donald Sutherland
Brian Costello
Matthew Broderick
Michael McPhae
Dody Goodman
Mrs. Litke
Sal Viscuso
Coach Roy
Panchito Gómez
Luis
Court is in session
Put Max Dugan Returns 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.