The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“It owes the canon nothing.”
The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.
Back to trending 
Switching Channels
Comedy · 1988
A television news chief courts his anchorwoman ex-wife with an eleventh-hour story.
Movie details
Switching Channels
“There's a lot more going on around here than news, weather, and sports.”
1988 Comedy 1h 45m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
A television news chief courts his anchorwoman ex-wife with an eleventh-hour story.
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 Switching Channels?
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.
Greedy
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A cunning and resourceful housewife vows revenge on her husband when he begins an affair with a wealthy romance novelist.
Grudge Match
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A pair of aging boxing rivals are coaxed out of retirement to fight one final bout -- 30 years after their last match.
Walk of Shame
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A reporter's dream of becoming a news anchor is compromised after a one-night stand leaves her stranded in downtown L.A. without a phone, car, ID or money - and only 8 hours to make it to the most important job interview of her life.
Duplex
Comedy · 2003
When a young couple buys their dream home, they have no idea what the sweet little old lady upstairs is going to put them through!
The Three Stooges
Comedy · 2012
Left on the doorstep of an orphanage run by nuns, three newborn knuckleheads grow up to be finger-poking, nyuk-nyuking janitors named Larry, Curly and Moe. When they learn that financial problems will soon force the only home they've ever known to close, the trio sets out to raise $830,000 in one month. Out in the world for the very first time, the three innocent bumblers become embroiled in a murder plot and find stardom on a TV reality show.
Taking Care of Business
Comedy · 1990
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.
Click & Collect
Comedy · 2018
To save his daughter's Christmas, Andrew goes on a road trip with Dev, his neighbour from hell, to buy an elusive Sparklehoof the Unicorn Princess.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Comedy · 2004
It's the 1970s and San Diego anchorman Ron Burgundy is the top dog in local TV, but that's all about to change when ambitious reporter Veronica Corningstone arrives as a new employee at his station.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Ted Kotcheff
Written by
Ben Hecht · Charles MacArthur · Jonathan Reynolds
Kathleen Turner
Christy Colleran
Burt Reynolds
John L. Sullivan IV
Christopher Reeve
Blaine Bingham
Ned Beatty
Roy Ridnitz
Henry Gibson
Ike Roscoe
George Newbern
Siegenthaler
Al Waxman
Berger
Court is in session
Put Switching Channels 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.