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 
Little Man Tate
Drama · Family · 1991
Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the opportunities that he needs, and that he is not taken advantage of by people who forget that his extremely powerful intellect is harboured in the body and emotions of a child.
Movie details
Little Man Tate
“It's not what he knows. It's what he understands.”
1991 Drama · Family 1h 39m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the opportunities that he needs, and that he is not taken advantage of by people who forget that his extremely powerful intellect is harboured in the body and emotions of a child.
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 Man Tate?
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.
An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars
Drama · 2012
A young girl struggles to maintain her school grades while competing as a gymnast.
Twitches Too
Drama · 2007
Reunited witch twins Camryn and Alex adjust to their new life as supernatural beings while at the same time trying to maintain a normal existence in this sequel to the magical Disney Channel original movie Twitches. But they soon find themselves going head to head with the forces of darkness that threaten to destroy their world. Luckily, their birth mother, the powerful Miranda, is on hand to help out.
The Good Witch
Family · 2008
A mysterious woman comes in to town and inhabits the local haunted mansion, making everyone wonder if she's a witch or "The Grey Lady".
The Good Witch's Family
Drama · 2011
A young witch visits her cousin in a small town during a heated mayoral election race. Her kind-hearted cousin, the town’s beloved “good witch” and newlywed with two teenage step-kids, is running for office, but must keep her family from falling apart when their visitor uses her magic to put them—and the whole town—under her bitter spell.
The Good Witch's Destiny
Drama · 2013
As Cassie's birthday approaches, Lori discovers disturbing parallels between Cassie and her great aunt, who disappeared years before on her birthday. When signs of a curse appear, Cassie conjures up a little magic to make things right again.
TalhotBlond
Drama · 2012
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
I Never Sang for My Father
Drama · 1970
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
A Taste of Honey
Drama · 1961
While out to avoid spending time with her narcissistic and promiscuous mother, sixteen-year-old Jo has a brief affair that leaves her pregnant and abandoned. When her mother remarries, Jo's only support becomes her friend Geoffrey, a homosexual.
I Am David
Drama · 2003
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Drama · 2017
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Jodie Foster
Written by
Scott Frank
Jodie Foster
Dede Tate
Dianne Wiest
Jane Grierson
Adam Hann-Byrd
Fred Tate
Harry Connick Jr.
Eddie
David Hyde Pierce
Garth Emmerick
Debi Mazar
Gina
P.J. Ochlan
Damon Wells
Court is in session
Put Little Man Tate 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.