Back to trending
Life Is Sweet

Life Is Sweet

Comedy · Drama · 1991

Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop, Andy is a cook who forever puts off home remodeling projects, Natalie is a plumber and Nicola is jobless. This film is about how they interact and play out family, conflict and love.

Movie details

Life Is Sweet

1991 Comedy · Drama 1h 43m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop, Andy is a cook who forever puts off home remodeling projects, Natalie is a plumber and Nicola is jobless. This film is about how they interact and play out family, conflict and love.

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 Life Is Sweet?

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.

Wildflower

Wildflower

Comedy · 2023

The story of Bea Johnson from birth to graduation as she navigates life with an intellectually disabled parent and an extended family who can't quite agree on the best way to help.

Captain Fantastic

Captain Fantastic

Drama · 2016

Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, beginning a journey that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent.

The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right

Comedy · 2010

Two women, Nic and Jules, brought a son and daughter into the world through artificial insemination. When one of their children reaches age, both kids go behind their mothers' backs to meet with the donor. Life becomes so much more interesting when the father, two mothers and children start to become attached to each other.

Five Easy Pieces

Five Easy Pieces

Drama · 1970

Robert Dupea spends his days doing various odd jobs, drinking and womanizing until an encounter with his sister makes him revisit his past.

Bastard Out of Carolina

Bastard Out of Carolina

Drama · 1996

A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.

Grandma

Grandma

Comedy · 2015

Self-described misanthrope Elle Reid has her protective bubble burst when her 18-year-old granddaughter, Sage, shows up needing help. The two of them go on a day-long journey that causes Elle to come to terms with her past and Sage to confront her future.

The Beanie Bubble

The Beanie Bubble

Comedy · 2023

Ty was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women turned his stuffed animals into a defining '90s trend. This behind-the-scenes look at history's biggest toy craze is a wild story about what—and who—is valued in this world.

Family Weekend

Family Weekend

Comedy · 2013

A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.

Somewhere in Queens

Somewhere in Queens

Comedy · 2023

Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.

Slums of Beverly Hills

Slums of Beverly Hills

Comedy · 1998

In 1976, a teenage girl struggles to cope while living with her neurotic lower-middle-class family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Mike Leigh

Written by

Mike Leigh

Alison Steadman

Alison Steadman

Wendy

Jim Broadbent

Jim Broadbent

Andy

Timothy Spall

Timothy Spall

Aubrey

Claire Skinner

Claire Skinner

Natalie

Jane Horrocks

Jane Horrocks

Nicola

David Thewlis

David Thewlis

Nicola's Lover

Moya Brady

Moya Brady

Paula

Court is in session

Put Life Is Sweet on trial.

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

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.