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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You Can't Take It with You
Comedy · Romance · 1938
Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.
Movie details
You Can't Take It with You
“You'll love them all for giving you the swellest time you've ever had!”
1938 Comedy · Romance 2h 6m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.5 / 10
Community rating
Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.
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 You Can't Take It with You?
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.
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Frank Capra
Written by
Robert Riskin
Jean Arthur
Alice Sycamore
Lionel Barrymore
Martin Vanderhof
James Stewart
Tony Kirby
Edward Arnold
Anthony P. Kirby
Mischa Auer
Kolenkhov
Ann Miller
Essie Carmichael
Spring Byington
Penny Sycamore
Court is in session
Put You Can't Take It with You 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.