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 
The Thing Called Love
Drama · Romance · Music · 1993
A group of newcomers to the country music business seek love and stardom.
Movie details
The Thing Called Love
“Stand by your dream.”
1993 Drama · Romance · Music 1h 56m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
A group of newcomers to the country music business seek love and stardom.
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 The Thing Called Love?
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.
Pennies from Heaven
Drama · 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.
Maestro
Drama · 2023
A towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. A love letter to life and art, Maestro at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love.
Young at Heart
Romance · 1954
The lives and romances of three sisters in a musical family; the youngest daughter's life is complicated by the subsequent arrival of a charming composer and a cynical music arranger.
A Star Is Born
Drama · 1976
Drunken, has-been rock star John Norman Howard falls in love with unknown singer Esther Hoffman after seeing her perform at a club. He lets her sing a few songs at one of his shows and she becomes the talk of the music industry. Esther's star begins to rise, while John's continues to fall. She tries desperately to get John to sober up and focus on his music, but it may be too late to save him.
See You Soon
Romance · 2019
A U.S. soccer star suffers a career-threatening injury in the run-up to the World Cup, and during his recovery, embarks on an epic romance with a Russian single mom.
Newness
Romance · 2017
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Carmen: A Hip Hopera
Drama · 2001
An engaged Philadelphia policeman falls in love with a beautiful woman while dealing with a corrupt superior.
Sweet Dreams
Drama · 1985
The story of Patsy Cline, the velvet-voiced country music singer who died in a tragic plane crash at the height of her fame.
Marked Men: Rule + Shaw
Romance · 2025
Shaw Landon has loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule, a fiery-tempered rebel tattoo artist, doesn’t have time for a good girl pre-med student like Shaw — even if she’s the only one who can see the person he truly is. She lives by other people’s rules; he makes his own. But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule must figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love…or each other.
Hounddog
Drama · 2008
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Peter Bogdanovich
Written by
Carol Heikkinen
River Phoenix
James Wright
Samantha Mathis
Miranda Presley
Dermot Mulroney
Kyle Davidson
Sandra Bullock
Linda Lue Linden
Anthony Clark
Billy
Deborah Allen
Deborah Allen
K
K.T. Oslin
Lucy
Court is in session
Put The Thing Called Love 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.