The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Big Wednesday
Drama · Comedy · 1978
Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.
Movie details
Big Wednesday
“A day will come that is like no other... and nothing that happens after will ever be the same.”
1978 Drama · Comedy 2h 0m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.9 / 10
Community rating
Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.
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 Big Wednesday?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
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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Hair
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Half Brothers
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My Girl
Comedy · 1991
Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J., her best friend, is "allergic to everything", and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. When Vada's father hires Shelly, and begins to fall for her, things take a turn to the worse...
White Men Can't Jump
Comedy · 1992
Two street basketball hustlers try to con each other, then team up for a bigger score.
Little Miss Sunshine
Comedy · 2006
A family loaded with quirky, colorful characters piles into an old van and road trips to California for little Olive to compete in a beauty pageant.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Milius
Written by
Dennis Aaberg · John Milius
Jan-Michael Vincent
Matt Johnson
William Katt
Jack Barlow
Gary Busey
Leroy "The Masochist" Smith
Patti D'Arbanville
Sally
Lee Purcell
Peggy Gordon
Sam Melville
"Bear"
Reb Brown
"Enforcer"
Court is in session
Put Big Wednesday on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.