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.
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Kicking and Screaming
Comedy · Drama · Romance · 1995
After college graduation, Grover's girlfriend Jane tells him she's moving to Prague to study writing. Grover declines to accompany her, deciding instead to move in with several friends, all of whom can't quite work up the inertia to escape their university's pull. Nobody wants to make any big decisions that would radically alter his life, yet none of them wants to end up like Chet, the professional student who tends bar and is in his tenth year of university studies.
Movie details
Kicking and Screaming
“Anxiety loves company.”
1995 Comedy · Drama · Romance 1h 36m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.2 / 10
Community rating
After college graduation, Grover's girlfriend Jane tells him she's moving to Prague to study writing. Grover declines to accompany her, deciding instead to move in with several friends, all of whom can't quite work up the inertia to escape their university's pull. Nobody wants to make any big decisions that would radically alter his life, yet none of them wants to end up like Chet, the professional student who tends bar and is in his tenth year of university studies.
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 Kicking and Screaming?
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.
Son in Law
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Celeste & Jesse Forever
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Empire Records
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The employees of an independent music store learn about each other as they try to stop the store from being absorbed by a large chain.
Peace, Love & Misunderstanding
Comedy · 2011
A conservative lawyer named Diane takes her two teenage children Jake and Zoe to meet their estranged, hippie grandmother in Woodstock after her husband asks for a divorce.
Drive Me Crazy
Romance · 1999
Nicole and Chase live next door to each other but are worlds apart. However, they plot a scheme to date each other in order to attract the interest and jealousy of their respective romantic prey. But in the mist of planning a gala centennial celebration, Nicole and Chase find that the one they always wanted was closer than they ever thought.
The Wood
Comedy · 1999
In the panicky, uncertain hours before his wedding, a groom with prenuptial jitters and his two best friends reminisce about growing up together in the middle-class African-American neighborhood of Inglewood, California. Flashing back to the twenty-something trio's childhood exploits, the memories capture the mood and nostalgia of the '80s era.
The Mirror Has Two Faces
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Rose Morgan, who still lives with her mother, is a professor of Romantic Literature who desperately longs for passion in her life. Gregory Larkin, a mathematics professor, has been burned by passionate relationships and longs for a sexless union based on friendship and respect.
The Wrong Paris
Romance · 2025
Dawn thinks she's joining a dating show in Paris, France, only to land in Paris, Texas. She has an exit plan — until sparks fly with the cowboy bachelor.
The First Time
Drama · 2012
A spark of attraction smolders, then ignites, between two teens from different high schools who meet by chance at a party.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Noah Baumbach
Written by
Noah Baumbach · Oliver Berkman
Josh Hamilton
Grover
Olivia D'Abo
Jane
Chris Eigeman
Max
Parker Posey
Miami
Jason Wiles
Skippy
Cara Buono
Kate
Carlos Jacott
Otis
Court is in session
Put Kicking and Screaming 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.