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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For Richer or Poorer
Comedy · Romance · 1997
Brad Sexton and his wife, Caroline, are wealthy New Yorkers with both marital and financial problems. The latter issue becomes a pressing matter when they discover that their accountant has embezzled millions and pinned the blame on them. Forced to go on the lam, Brad and Caroline end up in an Amish area of Pennsylvania and decide to pose as members of the religious group to evade the IRS. As the two adapt to the simple Amish lifestyle, they begin to reconnect.
Movie details
For Richer or Poorer
1997 Comedy · Romance 1h 55m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
Brad Sexton and his wife, Caroline, are wealthy New Yorkers with both marital and financial problems. The latter issue becomes a pressing matter when they discover that their accountant has embezzled millions and pinned the blame on them. Forced to go on the lam, Brad and Caroline end up in an Amish area of Pennsylvania and decide to pose as members of the religious group to evade the IRS. As the two adapt to the simple Amish lifestyle, they begin to reconnect.
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 For Richer or Poorer?
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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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Bryan Spicer
Written by
Jana Howington · Steve LuKanic
Tim Allen
Brad Sexton
Kirstie Alley
Caroline Sexton
Jay O. Sanders
Samuel Yoder
Michael Lerner
Phil Kleinman
Wayne Knight
Bob Lachman
Larry Miller
Derek Lester
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.
Frank Hall
Court is in session
Put For Richer or Poorer 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.