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Ode to Joy

Ode to Joy

Comedy · Drama · Romance · 2019

Charlie suffers from a serious disease that causes acute narcolepsy whenever he is happy. Although he develops a variety of techniques to deny himself pleasure and deal with his sleep issues, they’re put to the test when he falls in love.

Movie details

Ode to Joy

“He's never been happier. And that's the problem.”

2019 Comedy · Drama · Romance 1h 37m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

Charlie suffers from a serious disease that causes acute narcolepsy whenever he is happy. Although he develops a variety of techniques to deny himself pleasure and deal with his sleep issues, they’re put to the test when he falls in 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 Ode to Joy?

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.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jason Winer

Written by

Max Werner

Martin Freeman

Martin Freeman

Charlie

Morena Baccarin

Morena Baccarin

Francesca

Jake Lacy

Jake Lacy

Cooper

Melissa Rauch

Melissa Rauch

Bethany

Shannon Woodward

Shannon Woodward

Liza

Ellis Rubin

Ellis Rubin

Victor

Jane Curtin

Jane Curtin

Aunt Sylvia

Court is in session

Put Ode to Joy on trial.

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

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.

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.