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Love Liza

Love Liza

Comedy · Drama · 2002

Following the unexplained suicide of his wife Liza, website designer Wilson Joel turns to huffing gasoline fumes and remote control gaming while avoiding an inevitable conflict with his mother-in-law.

Movie details

Love Liza

“A Comic Tragedy”

2002 Comedy · Drama 1h 30m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

Following the unexplained suicide of his wife Liza, website designer Wilson Joel turns to huffing gasoline fumes and remote control gaming while avoiding an inevitable conflict with his mother-in-law.

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 Love Liza?

The 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.

Directed by

Todd Louiso

Written by

Gordy Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Wilson Joel

Jack Kehler

Jack Kehler

Denny

Sarah Koskoff

Sarah Koskoff

Maura

Stephen Tobolowsky

Stephen Tobolowsky

Tom Bailey

Erika Alexander

Erika Alexander

Brenda

S

Shannon Holt

Angela Ryan from Bailey Federated

Kevin Breznahan

Kevin Breznahan

Jim

Court is in session

Put Love Liza on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

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.

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.