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 
Driving Lessons
Comedy · Drama · 2006
A shy teenage boy trying to escape the influence of his domineering mother, has his world changed when he begins to work for a retired actress.
Movie details
Driving Lessons
2006 Comedy · Drama 1h 38m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
A shy teenage boy trying to escape the influence of his domineering mother, has his world changed when he begins to work for a retired actress.
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 Driving Lessons?
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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Gypsy
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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.
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Stuck at a crossroads in her personal life, it falls on high school English teacher Miss Stevens to chaperone three of her students — Billy, Margot and Sam — on a weekend trip to a drama competition.
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A divorced writer from the Midwest returns to her hometown to reconnect with an old flame, who's now married with a family.
Wild Rose
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A young Scottish singer, Rose-Lynn Harlan, dreams of making it as a country artist in Nashville after being released from prison.
Tully
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Marlo, a mother of three, including a newborn, is gifted a night nanny by her brother. Hesitant at first, she quickly forms a bond with the thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging nanny named Tully.
Moxie
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Inspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy 16-year-old publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.
Ezra
Comedy · 2024
Stand-up comedian Max Bernal lives with his father Stan while struggling to co-parent his autistic son Ezra with his ex-wife. When forced to confront difficult decisions about their son's future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both their lives.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Jeremy Brock
Written by
Jeremy Brock
Laura Linney
Laura Marshall
Rupert Grint
Ben Marshall
Julie Walters
Evie Walton
Michelle Duncan
Bryony
Oliver Milburn
Peter
Tamsin Egerton
Sarah
Nicholas Farrell
Robert
Court is in session
Put Driving Lessons 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.