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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The Back-Up Plan
Comedy · Romance · 2010
When Zoe tires of looking for Mr. Right, she decides to have a baby on her own. But on the day she's artificially inseminated, she meets Stan, who seems to be just who she's been searching for all her life. Now, Zoe has to figure out how to make her two life's dreams fit with each other.
Movie details
The Back-Up Plan
“Fall in love, get married, have a baby. Not necessarily in that order.”
2010 Comedy · Romance 1h 46m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
When Zoe tires of looking for Mr. Right, she decides to have a baby on her own. But on the day she's artificially inseminated, she meets Stan, who seems to be just who she's been searching for all her life. Now, Zoe has to figure out how to make her two life's dreams fit with each other.
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 Back-Up Plan?
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.
Keeping the Faith
Comedy · 2000
Best friends since they were kids, Rabbi Jacob Schram and Father Brian Finn are dynamic and popular young men living and working on New York's Upper West Side. When Anna Reilly, once their childhood friend and now grown into a beautiful corporate executive, suddenly returns to the city, she reenters Jake and Brian's lives and hearts with a vengeance. Sparks fly and an unusual and complicated love triangle ensues.
The Rewrite
Romance · 2014
An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.
The Baxter
Comedy · 2005
Mild mannered tax accountant Elliot Sherman is what he calls a "Baxter": the kind of calm, unexciting fellow who "wears sock garters" and "enjoys raking leaves." Loved by bosses and parents, Elliot is a perfectly nice guy. And that's his problem.
Love, Weddings & Other Disasters
Romance · 2020
A fussy celebrity caterer, a blind woman, a tour-bus guide and an inexperienced wedding planner search for love.
Only the Lonely
Comedy · 1991
Danny Muldoon, a Chicago policeman, still lives with his overbearing mother Rose. He meets and falls in love with Theresa Luna, whose father owns the local funeral parlour. Naturally, his mother objects to the relationship, and Danny and Theresa must either overcome her objections or give up the romance.
Crossing Delancey
Comedy · 1988
Thirty-something Isabelle spends her time going from her tiny, solitary West Side apartment to that of her grandmother on the Lower East Side. While her grandmother plots to find her a romantic match, Isabelle is courted by a married, worldly author, Anton, yet can't seem to shake the down-to-earth appeal of Sam, a pickle vendor.
Relationship Goals
Romance · 2026
When TV producer Leah Caldwell aims to become the first woman running New York's top morning show, her ex competes for the same role. Leah stays focused on her career, until chemistry with her ex challenges her priorities.
Merv
Comedy · 2025
When their beloved dog Merv loses his spark after their split, Anna and Russ are forced into the world's most awkward co-parenting arrangement. Hoping to shake Merv out of his funk, Russ takes him to Florida for a much-needed getaway-only for Anna to show up unexpectedly. As Merv slowly gets his groove back, turns out fixing their dog's broken heart may lead to a few sparks of their own.
No Strings Attached
Comedy · 2011
Emma is a busy doctor who sets up a seemingly perfect arrangement when she offers her best friend Adam a relationship with one rule: No strings attached. But when a fling becomes a thing, can sex friends stay best friends?
Valentine's Day
Comedy · 2010
Intertwining couples and singles in Los Angeles break-up and make-up based on the pressures and expectations of Valentine's Day.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Alan Poul
Written by
Kate Angelo
Jennifer Lopez
Zoe
Alex O'Loughlin
Stan
Michaela Watkins
Mona
Eric Christian Olsen
Clive
Anthony Anderson
Playground Dad
Noureen DeWulf
Daphne
Melissa McCarthy
Carol
Court is in session
Put The Back-Up Plan 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.