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 
Pennies from Heaven
Drama · Music · Romance · 1981
During the Great Depression, a sheet music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent schoolteacher.
Movie details
Pennies from Heaven
“There's a world on both sides of the rainbow where songs come true and every time it rains, it rains Pennies from Heaven.”
1981 Drama · Music · Romance 1h 48m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
During the Great Depression, a sheet music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent schoolteacher.
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 Pennies from Heaven?
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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The Greatest Hits
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Herbert Ross
Written by
Dennis Potter
Steve Martin
Arthur
Bernadette Peters
Eileen
Jessica Harper
Joan
Vernel Bagneris
The Accordion Man
John McMartin
Mr. Warner
John Karlen
The Detective
Jay Garner
The Banker
Court is in session
Put Pennies from Heaven 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.