The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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The Apartment
Comedy · Drama · Romance · 1960
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
Movie details
The Apartment
“Movie-wise, there has never been anything like it - laugh-wise, love-wise, or otherwise-wise!”
1960 Comedy · Drama · Romance 2h 6m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
8.2 / 10
Community rating
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
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 Apartment?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
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.
The Shop Around the Corner
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Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realising that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.
When Harry Met Sally...
Comedy · 1989
Sex always gets in the way of friendships between men and women. At least, that's what Harry Burns believes. So when Harry meets Sally Albright and a deep friendship blossoms between them, Harry's determined not to let his attraction to Sally destroy it. But when a night of weakness ends in a morning of panic, can the pair avoid succumbing to Harry's fears by remaining friends and admitting they just might be the perfect match for each other?
Something from Tiffany's
Romance · 2022
One woman's life is forever changed by an engagement ring meant for someone else.
Before We Go
Romance · 2014
A chance encounter between two strangers in Grand Central Terminal sparks a life-changing, nighttime sojourn through New York City. They grow into each other's most trusted confidants when an evening of unexpected adventure forces them to confront their fears and take control of their lives.
A California Christmas: City Lights
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Follows Callie and Joseph one year after they fell in love, now running a dairy farm and winery, but their romance is threatened when business and family obligations call Joseph back to the city.
The Baltimorons
Comedy · 2025
A newly sober man's Christmas Eve dental emergency leads to an unexpected romance with his older dentist as they explore Baltimore together.
Which Brings Me to You
Romance · 2023
Two romantic burnouts, Jane and Will, are immediately drawn to each other at a mutual friend’s wedding. After a disastrous hookup in the coatroom, the two spend the next 24 hours together, trading candid confessions of messy histories and heartbreak, on the off chance that this fling might be the real thing.
Café Society
Comedy · 2016
The story of a young man who arrives in Hollywood during the 1930s hoping to work in the film industry, falls in love, and finds himself swept up in the vibrant café society that defined the spirit of the age.
Plaza Suite
Comedy · 1971
Film version of the Neil Simon play has three separate acts set in the same hotel suite in New York's Plaza Hotel with Walter Matthau in a triple role. In the first, Karen Nash tries to get her inattentive husband Sam's attention and help save their failing marriage. In the second, brash film producer Jesse Kiplinger tries to seduce his former one-time flame Muriel. In the third, Roy Hubley and his wife Norma try and persuade their daughter, a bride to-be with cold feet, out of the bathroom before her approaching wedding ceremony.
Author! Author!
Comedy · 1982
A broadway playwright is burning the candle at both ends. He is dealing with pressure from a production nearing premiere, a wife who is leaving him, and 5 children 4 of which belong to her.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Billy Wilder
Written by
Billy Wilder · I. A. L. Diamond
Jack Lemmon
C.C. Baxter
Shirley MacLaine
Fran Kubelik
Fred MacMurray
Jeff D. Sheldrake
Ray Walston
Joe Dobisch
Jack Kruschen
Dr. Dreyfuss
David Lewis
Al Kirkeby
H
Hope Holiday
Margie MacDougall
Court is in session
Put The Apartment on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.