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 
Two Can Play That Game
Comedy · Romance · 2001
Corporate overachiever and all-around fly chick Shanté Smith thinks she's got the goods to keep her slickster boyfriend Keith, from straying—until he discovers a greener pasture, Shanté's archrival, Conny. Scorned, she plans to get her man back by any means necessary.
Movie details
Two Can Play That Game
“The rules are simple. There are no rules.”
2001 Comedy · Romance 1h 30m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
Corporate overachiever and all-around fly chick Shanté Smith thinks she's got the goods to keep her slickster boyfriend Keith, from straying—until he discovers a greener pasture, Shanté's archrival, Conny. Scorned, she plans to get her man back by any means necessary.
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 Two Can Play That Game?
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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Bull Durham
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Veteran catcher Crash Davis is brought to the minor league Durham Bulls to help their up and coming pitching prospect, "Nuke" Laloosh. Their relationship gets off to a rocky start and is further complicated when baseball groupie Annie Savoy sets her sights on the two men.
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Peter and Emma thought they were on the precipice of life’s biggest moments – marriage, kids, and houses in the suburbs – until their respective partners dumped them. Horrified to learn that the loves of their lives have already moved on, Peter and Emma hatch a hilarious plan to win back their exes with unexpected results.
What's Your Number?
Comedy · 2011
Ally Darling is realizing she's a little lost in life. Her latest romance has just fizzled out, and she's just been fired from her marketing job. Then she reads an eye-opening magazine article that warns that 96 percent of women who've been with 20 or more lovers are unlikely to find a husband. Determined to turn her life around and prove the article wrong, Ally embarks on a mission to find the perfect mate from among her numerous ex-boyfriends.
Splendor
Comedy · 1999
Veronica is a white-bread beauty searching for a good man in Los Angeles. While slam dancing at a Halloween rave, she meets Abel, a sensitive poet. Then she meets Zed, a supersexy tattooed drummer with incredible biceps. Who will she choose? Does she go for true love or cheap sex? She can't decide so she chooses both. But after managing to nurture a picture-perfect threesome, along comes Ernest, a rich movie director with deep baby blues that sweep Veronica off her feet. What's a girl to do now?
The Lonely Guy
Comedy · 1984
A writer for a greeting card company learns the true meaning of loneliness when he comes home to find his girlfriend in bed with another man.
Bye Bye Love
Comedy · 1995
With varying degrees of success, recently divorced friends Dave, Vic and Donny are trying to move on with their lives. Vic feels vilified by his ex-wife's parents, while Donny has a shaky bond with his teen daughter, Emma. Dave, meanwhile, has an enviable problem -- he has more dates than he can handle. As they confront their post-marital challenges, the men take solace in one another's plights.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Mark Brown
Written by
Mark Brown
Vivica A. Fox
Shanté Smith
Morris Chestnut
Keith Fenton
Anthony Anderson
Tony
Gabrielle Union
Conny Spalding
Wendy Raquel Robinson
Karen
Tamala Jones
Tracey Johnson
Mo'Nique
Diedre
Court is in session
Put Two Can Play That Game 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.