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Social Animals

Social Animals

Comedy · Romance · 2018

Determined not to turn into her parents, or be drawn into any relationship longer than a one night stand, Zoe constantly struggles with her failing business and love life. Then she falls in love for the first time with Paul. But there's one problem: Paul is married.

Movie details

Social Animals

“Love is never picture perfect”

2018 Comedy · Romance 1h 30m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

Determined not to turn into her parents, or be drawn into any relationship longer than a one night stand, Zoe constantly struggles with her failing business and love life. Then she falls in love for the first time with Paul. But there's one problem: Paul is married.

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 Social Animals?

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.

10

10

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Clerks

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The Hot Spot

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The Overnight

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True Romance

True Romance

Action · 1993

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Hard to Die

Hard to Die

Action · 1990

While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorized by a series of bizarre killings. They suspect that the strange janitor, who witnessed another series of killings six months previously, is at the bottom of the whole thing. Little do they know the real horror that they face in the end.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Theresa Bennett

Written by

Theresa Bennett

Noël Wells

Noël Wells

Zoe

Josh Radnor

Josh Radnor

Paul

Aya Cash

Aya Cash

Jane

Carly Chaikin

Carly Chaikin

Claire

Fortune Feimster

Fortune Feimster

Sarah-Beth

Samira Wiley

Samira Wiley

Lana

Ryan Darbonne

Ryan Darbonne

Matt

Court is in session

Put Social Animals 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.