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.
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Splash
Comedy · Romance · Fantasy · 1984
A successful businessman falls in love with the girl of his dreams. There's one big complication though; he's fallen hook, line and sinker for a mermaid.
Movie details
Splash
“She was the woman of Allen's dreams. She had large dark eyes, a beautiful smile and a great pair of fins.”
1984 Comedy · Romance · Fantasy 1h 50m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
A successful businessman falls in love with the girl of his dreams. There's one big complication though; he's fallen hook, line and sinker for a mermaid.
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 Splash?
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 Midsummer Night's Dream
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Aquamarine
Fantasy · 2006
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What's Love Got to Do with It?
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The Woman in Red
Comedy · 1984
When a happily married family man, who would never consider an affair, meets a beautiful woman in red, he is totally infatuated and desperate to make her acquaintance. However, as he tries out various schemes to sneak out to meet her, he realizes that adultery is not quite as easy as it looks.
Love, Weddings & Other Disasters
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A fussy celebrity caterer, a blind woman, a tour-bus guide and an inexperienced wedding planner search for love.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Ron Howard
Written by
Lowell Ganz · Babaloo Mandel · Bruce Jay Friedman
Tom Hanks
Allen Bauer
Daryl Hannah
Madison
Eugene Levy
Walter Kornbluth
John Candy
Freddie Bauer
Dody Goodman
Mrs. Stimler
Shecky Greene
Mr. Buyrite
Richard B. Shull
Dr. Ross
Court is in session
Put Splash 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.