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Better Living Through Chemistry

Better Living Through Chemistry

Drama · Comedy · 2014

A straight-laced pharmacist's uneventful life spirals out of control when he starts an affair with a trophy wife customer who takes him on a joyride involving sex, drugs and possibly murder.

Movie details

Better Living Through Chemistry

“Happiness has no formula”

2014 Drama · Comedy 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

A straight-laced pharmacist's uneventful life spirals out of control when he starts an affair with a trophy wife customer who takes him on a joyride involving sex, drugs and possibly murder.

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 Better Living Through Chemistry?

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.

The Racer

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Uncorked

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Drama · 2020

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Landline

Landline

Comedy · 2017

A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.

The Adults

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Drama · 2023

Eric returns home for a short visit and finds himself caught between reuniting with his sisters and chasing a victory with his old poker group. As the trip extends, Eric finds it increasingly difficult to avoid confrontations and revelations as his carefully constructed façade of his adulthood gives way to old childhood conflicts.

Almost Friends

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Drama · 2017

A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.

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Comedy · 2020

Bailey and Darla embark upon a misguided and mutually deceitful form of therapy, one in which they must drive across the country, re-enacting Darla's colorful history as a sex addict. As their true motivations for the road trip come to light, the unlikely pair force one another to confront their issues, discovering that there might actually be more to love than just sex.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

David Posamentier · Geoff Moore

Written by

Geoff Moore · David Posamentier

Sam Rockwell

Sam Rockwell

Douglas Varney

Michelle Monaghan

Michelle Monaghan

Kara Varney

Olivia Wilde

Olivia Wilde

Elizabeth Roberts

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda

Pharmacy Customer

Ray Liotta

Ray Liotta

Jack Roberts

Norbert Leo Butz

Norbert Leo Butz

Agent Andrew Carp

Ben Schwartz

Ben Schwartz

Noah

Court is in session

Put Better Living Through Chemistry 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.