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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Little Secrets
Drama · Family · Comedy · 2002
Emily is a plucky preteen who is entrusted with her young neighbors' most private and cherished secrets. Every Wednesday, Emily sets up a booth in her backyard that regularly attracts the guilty young souls of the neighborhood. These include Philip, whose clumsiness and his interest in Emily make him a challenging client. But complications ensue when she suddenly finds it difficult to keep all of her neighbors' secrets to herself.
Movie details
Little Secrets
“Can you keep a secret?”
2002 Drama · Family · Comedy 1h 36m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
Emily is a plucky preteen who is entrusted with her young neighbors' most private and cherished secrets. Every Wednesday, Emily sets up a booth in her backyard that regularly attracts the guilty young souls of the neighborhood. These include Philip, whose clumsiness and his interest in Emily make him a challenging client. But complications ensue when she suddenly finds it difficult to keep all of her neighbors' secrets to herself.
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 Little Secrets?
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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Harriet the Spy
Comedy · 1996
Harriet may only be in the sixth grade, but she's already found her calling: to be a spy. In a private journal she takes everywhere, Harriet records suspicious activity and keeps a running list of observations on virtually everyone she knows. It seems harmless enough until, one day, someone finds the journal and exposes Harriet's critical thoughts about her classmates. Suddenly, even her best friends are against her, and Harriet resolves to take revenge.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Comedy · 2008
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!
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Comedy · 2015
Young and feisty Gilly Hopkins devises a scheme to escape from her new foster home and reunite with her birth mother.
Free Rein: The Twelve Neighs of Christmas
Comedy · 2018
As Bright Fields preps for its Mistletoe Ball, a broken ornament leads Zoe to a family secret, while Gaby finds herself at the mercy of new boss Mia.
Chang Can Dunk
Family · 2023
Chang, a 16-year-old, Asian American, bets the high school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads 5' 8" Chang on a quest to learn to dunk—not only to impress his crush, Kristy, but to gain the respect of his high school peers too. But before he can rise up and truly throw one down, he'll have to reexamine everything he knows about himself, his friendships and his family.
Roll Bounce
Comedy · 2005
In the summer of 1978, a teenager and his group of friends face new challenges when their neighborhood roller-skating rink closes, forcing them to visit a different rink.
Mixtape
Comedy · 2021
On the eve of Y2K, orphaned 12-year-old Beverly discovers a broken mixtape crafted by her teen parents. Raised by her grandmother – who struggles talking about her late daughter – Beverly sees the mixtape as a chance to finally learn more about her parents.
Secondhand Lions
Family · 2003
The comedic adventures of an introverted boy left on the doorstep of a pair of reluctant, eccentric great-uncles, whose exotic remembrances stir the boy's spirit and re-ignite the men's lives.
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Fantasy · 2012
A childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their wishes for an infant. Soon, a child is born, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Blair Treu
Written by
Jessica Barondes
Evan Rachel Wood
Emily Lindstrom
Michael Angarano
Philip Lenox
David Gallagher
David Lenox
Vivica A. Fox
Pauline
Jan Broberg Felt
Caroline Lindstrom
Rick Macy
Eddie Lindstrom
Paul Kiernan
Don Lenox
Court is in session
Put Little Secrets 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.