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 
Little Miss Marker
Comedy · Romance · 1980
Sorrowful Jones is a cheap bookie in the 1930s. When a gambler leaves his daughter as a marker for a bet, he gets stuck with her. His life changes a great deal with her arrival and he finds sudden love for a woman also involved in gambling operations.
Movie details
Little Miss Marker
“A wildly romantic comedy about a cookie, a bookie, and the kid they bet their hearts on.”
1980 Comedy · Romance 1h 43m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
Sorrowful Jones is a cheap bookie in the 1930s. When a gambler leaves his daughter as a marker for a bet, he gets stuck with her. His life changes a great deal with her arrival and he finds sudden love for a woman also involved in gambling operations.
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 Little Miss Marker?
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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The Other Woman
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Walter Bernstein
Written by
Walter Bernstein · Damon Runyon
Walter Matthau
Sorrowful Jones
Julie Andrews
Amanda
Tony Curtis
Blackie
Bob Newhart
Regret
Lee Grant
The Judge
Brian Dennehy
Herbie
Kenneth McMillan
Brannigan
Court is in session
Put Little Miss Marker 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.