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 
Vivacious Lady
Comedy · Romance · 1938
College town life gets turned upside down after a button-down botany professor secretly weds a sizzling night-club singer.
Movie details
Vivacious Lady
“Ginger goes to college but not the way you think”
1938 Comedy · Romance 1h 30m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.0 / 10
Community rating
College town life gets turned upside down after a button-down botany professor secretly weds a sizzling night-club singer.
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 Vivacious Lady?
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.
The Freshman
Comedy · 1925
An unathletic college freshman ridiculed by his peers for his mannerisms strives to become popular by making the football team.
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
Comedy · 1938
American multi-millionaire Michael Brandon marries his eighth wife, Nicole, the daughter of a broke French Marquis. But she doesn't want to be only a number in the line of his ex-wives and undertakes her own strategy to tame him.
Barefoot in the Park
Comedy · 1967
In this film based on a Neil Simon play, newlyweds Corie, a free spirit, and Paul Bratter, an uptight lawyer, share a sixth-floor apartment in Greenwich Village. Soon after their marriage, Corie tries to find a companion for mother, Ethel, who is now alone, and sets up Ethel with neighbor Victor. Inappropriate behavior on a double date causes conflict, and the young couple considers divorce.
Horse Feathers
Comedy · 1932
Quincy Adams Wagstaff, the new president of Huxley U, hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against rival Darwin U.
High Society
Music · 1956
With socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.
Marry Me
Romance · 2022
After finding out about her fiancé's cheating ways, a pop superstar impulsively marries a total stranger. They must soon decide if two people from such different worlds can find true love.
Crazy Rich Asians
Comedy · 2018
An American-born Chinese economics professor accompanies her boyfriend to Singapore for his best friend's wedding, only to get thrust into the lives of Asia's rich and famous.
One Small Hitch
Romance · 2013
On a flight home to Chicago for a family wedding, childhood friends Josh and Molly innocently agree to fake a wedding engagement to make Josh's dying father happy. Things quickly get out of hand with their two boisterous families, and a series of events causes them to pretend to be a couple and start planning a phony wedding. When the playacting begins to foster real feelings, the two must make some serious decisions: Split up and return to their lives in LA, or make a life as a couple back in Chicago?
That Uncertain Feeling
Comedy · 1941
A happily married woman sees a psychoanalyst and develops doubts about her husband.
The Philadelphia Story
Comedy · 1940
When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
George Stevens
Written by
P.J. Wolfson · Ernest Pagano · I.A.R. Wylie
Ginger Rogers
Francey
James Stewart
Peter
James Ellison
Keith
Beulah Bondi
Mrs. Morgan
Charles Coburn
Mr. Morgan
Frances Mercer
Helen
Phyllis Kennedy
Jenny
Court is in session
Put Vivacious Lady 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.