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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Nothing in Common
Drama · Comedy · 1986
A successful advertising executive finds his freewheeling life crashing to a halt when his parents end their longtime marriage.
Movie details
Nothing in Common
“It's a comedy. And a drama. Just like life.”
1986 Drama · Comedy 1h 58m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.9 / 10
Community rating
A successful advertising executive finds his freewheeling life crashing to a halt when his parents end their longtime marriage.
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 Nothing in Common?
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.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
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In a sleepy Louisiana parish, a group of lifelong friends stage a rather unorthodox intervention to help a young playwright unravel the truth about her complicated mother and let go of her painful past.
Young Adult
Comedy · 2011
A divorced writer from the Midwest returns to her hometown to reconnect with an old flame, who's now married with a family.
SubUrbia
Comedy · 1997
A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Comedy · 2008
When a celebrated TV show host returns to his hometown in the South, his family is there to remind him that going home is no vacation!
Don't Think Twice
Comedy · 2016
An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.
A Thousand Words
Drama · 2012
Jack McCall is a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack’s life comes unglued after a magical Bodhi tree mysteriously appears in his backyard. With every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls from the tree and he realizes that when the last leaf falls, both he and the tree are toast. Words have never failed Jack McCall, but now he’s got to stop talking and conjure up some outrageous ways to communicate or he’s a goner.
Ezra
Comedy · 2024
Stand-up comedian Max Bernal lives with his father Stan while struggling to co-parent his autistic son Ezra with his ex-wife. When forced to confront difficult decisions about their son's future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both their lives.
Thunderstruck
Comedy · 2012
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
The Pumpkin Eater
Drama · 1964
Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.
Fatherhood
Drama · 2021
A widowed new dad copes with doubts, fears, heartache and dirty diapers as he sets out to raise his daughter on his own. Inspired by a true story.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Garry Marshall
Written by
Rick Podell · Michael Preminger
Tom Hanks
David Basner
Jackie Gleason
Max Basner
Eva Marie Saint
Lorraine Basner
Héctor Elizondo
Charlie Gargas
Barry Corbin
Andrew Woolridge
Bess Armstrong
Donna Mildred Martin
Sela Ward
Cheryl Ann Wayne
Court is in session
Put Nothing in Common 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.