The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“It owes the canon nothing.”
The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.
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High Strung
Comedy · 1992
Thane Furrows, an extremely cynical but unintentionally hilarious children's book writer, wakes up one morning, and, since pretty much everyone and everything annoys him, begins another day of complaining to himself. However, the day proves to be much different than normal when Thane begins to recieve strange phone calls, letters, and voices in his head, all indicating that something will happen at 8 o'clock. As the day goes on, Thane rants and raves about the things that annoy him, as the clock slowly ticks closer and closer to his destiny.
Movie details
High Strung
“The story of a guy with a few too many hang-ups.”
1992 Comedy 1h 34m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
Thane Furrows, an extremely cynical but unintentionally hilarious children's book writer, wakes up one morning, and, since pretty much everyone and everything annoys him, begins another day of complaining to himself. However, the day proves to be much different than normal when Thane begins to recieve strange phone calls, letters, and voices in his head, all indicating that something will happen at 8 o'clock. As the day goes on, Thane rants and raves about the things that annoy him, as the clock slowly ticks closer and closer to his destiny.
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 High Strung?
For the defence
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
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 Three Stooges
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The Errand Boy
Comedy · 1961
Paramutual Pictures wants to know where all the money is going so they hire Morty to be their spy. Morty works for Mr. Sneak and gets a job in the mail room so that he can have access to the lot. But all that Morty ever finds is that he can cause havoc no matter what he does.
Taking Care of Business
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An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.
The Mouse That Roared
Comedy · 1959
The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force (in chain mail, armed with bows and arrows) to New York and they arrive during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets.
Chris Rock: Tamborine
Comedy · 2018
Chris Rock takes the stage for his first comedy special in 10 years, filled with searing observations on fatherhood, infidelity and American politics.
Mistress America
Comedy · 2015
A college freshman cures her disappointment and loneliness by allowing herself to be pulled into the wacky schemes of her future stepsister.
Thunderstruck
Comedy · 2012
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
He Died with a Felafel in His Hand
Comedy · 2001
A search for love, meaning and bathroom solitude. Danny goes through a series of shared housing experiences in a succession of cities on the east coast of Australia. Together these vignettes form a narrative that is surprisingly reflective.
The Million Pound Note
Comedy · 1954
An impoverished American sailor is fortunate enough to be passing the house of two rich gentlemen who have conceived the crazy idea of distributing a note worth one million pounds. The sailor finds that whenever he tries to use the note to buy something, people treat him like a king and let him have whatever he likes for free. Ultimately, the money proves to be more troublesome than it is worth when it almost costs him his dignity and the woman he loves.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Roger Nygard
Written by
Robert Kuhn · Steve Oedekerk
Steve Oedekerk
Thane Furrows
Thomas F. Wilson
Al
Denise Crosby
Melanie
Fred Willard
Insurance Salesman
J
Jani Lane
Vol
Kirsten Dunst
Young Girl
Ed Williams
Boss
Court is in session
Put High Strung on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Big-Idea Head
“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”
It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.