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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I Used to Be Famous
Comedy · Drama · Music · 2022
A former boy band star unexpectedly gets a second shot at success when he forms a bond with a gifted young drummer.
Movie details
I Used to Be Famous
“This is your time.”
2022 Comedy · Drama · Music 1h 44m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.9 / 10
Community rating
A former boy band star unexpectedly gets a second shot at success when he forms a bond with a gifted young drummer.
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 I Used to Be Famous?
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.
Flora and Son
Music · 2023
Single mom Flora is at a loss about what to do with her rebellious teenage son, Max. Her efforts to keep him out of trouble lead to a beat-up acoustic guitar, a washed-up LA musician, and harmony for this frayed Dublin family.
Metal Lords
Comedy · 2022
For teenage misfits Hunter and Kevin, the path to glory is clear: Devote themselves to metal. Win Battle of the Bands. And be worshipped like gods.
Sweet and Lowdown
Comedy · 1999
In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.
The House of Tomorrow
Drama · 2019
The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.
School Dance
Comedy · 2014
High schooler Jason has found his dream girl—the gorgeous Anastacia. There’s just one problem: she doesn’t know he exists. If he can win a spot on the school’s hottest dance crew, Jason might have a shot. But before he does, he’ll have to overcome his battle-ax of a mother, survive Anastacia’s gangsta brother, and pass the crew’s initiation—in this fresh, sexy, and outrageously funny comedy.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Comedy · 2001
Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig undergoes a personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an 'internationally ignored' but divinely talented rock diva, inhabiting a 'beautiful gender of one'.
Honey: Rise Up and Dance
Music · 2018
Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.
Krush Groove
Comedy · 1985
Russell Walker is a young, successful manager of rap performers, handling acts for the Krush Groove label, including Run-DMC and The Fat Boys. When Run-D.M.C. has a hit record and Russell needs more money to press more copies, he borrows it from a street hustler and soon regrets his decision.
Gypsy
Comedy · 1962
Gypsy's mother Rose dreams of a life in show business for her daughters, but Louise becomes a huge burlesque star. Stage musical loosely based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee.
The Mighty
Drama · 1998
Kevin, an intelligent guy helps out Maxwell to improve his reading skills. In return, Kevin wants Maxwell to take him out places since he is not authorized to go out. Being the social outcasts of the town, Kevin and Maxwell come to realize that they are similar to each other and accept that they are "freaks" and nothing will stop them.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Eddie Sternberg
Written by
Eddie Sternberg · Zak Klein
Ed Skrein
Vince
Eleanor Matsuura
Amber
Eoin Macken
Austin
Kurt Egyiawan
Dia
Neil Stuke
Dennis
Racheal Ofori
Mel
Leo Long
Stevie
Court is in session
Put I Used to Be Famous 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.