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Diary of a Mad Housewife

Diary of a Mad Housewife

Comedy · Drama · 1970

Tina Balser is a bored New York housewife-mother married to Jonathan, a pompous, social-climbing lawyer who ridicules her in front of their children, criticizing everything she does or wears. She begins an affair with George Prager, a dashing, successful, and blatantly sadistic writer.

Movie details

Diary of a Mad Housewife

“It can happen to any married woman anywhere, anytime...it happened to Tina.”

1970 Comedy · Drama 1h 35m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

Tina Balser is a bored New York housewife-mother married to Jonathan, a pompous, social-climbing lawyer who ridicules her in front of their children, criticizing everything she does or wears. She begins an affair with George Prager, a dashing, successful, and blatantly sadistic writer.

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 Diary of a Mad Housewife?

The 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.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Frank Perry

Written by

Eleanor Perry

Carrie Snodgress

Carrie Snodgress

Tina Balser

Richard Benjamin

Richard Benjamin

Jonathan Balser

Frank Langella

Frank Langella

George Prager

L

Lorraine Cullen

Sylvie Balser

F

Frannie Michel

Liz Balser

L

Lee Addoms

Mrs. Prinz

P

Peter Dohanos

Samuel Keefer

Court is in session

Put Diary of a Mad Housewife on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

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.

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.