Back to trending
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.

Cuban Fury

Cuban Fury

Comedy · 2014

Beneath Bruce Garrett's under-confident, overweight exterior, the passionate heart of a salsa king lies dormant. Now, one woman is about to reignite his Latin fire.

Loverboy

Loverboy

Comedy · 1989

Randy Bodek works as a pizza delivery boy at Señor Pizza to make a few extra bucks. Some customers are special, though: When the order is for a pizza with extra anchovies, it means the female customers are looking for some loving. But, as Randy soon learns, life as a professional gigolo can get pretty complicated.

Nobody's Fool

Nobody's Fool

Comedy · 2018

After serving five years in prison, wild child Tanya looks to her buttoned-up, by-the-book sister Danica to help her get back on her feet. The feisty ex-con becomes suspicious and concerned when Danica tells her that she's in a long-distance, online relationship with a mysterious man she's never seen. As the polar opposites start to collide, Tanya soon discovers that her sibling's picture-perfect life may not be what it seems.

Splendor

Splendor

Comedy · 1999

Veronica is a white-bread beauty searching for a good man in Los Angeles. While slam dancing at a Halloween rave, she meets Abel, a sensitive poet. Then she meets Zed, a supersexy tattooed drummer with incredible biceps. Who will she choose? Does she go for true love or cheap sex? She can't decide so she chooses both. But after managing to nurture a picture-perfect threesome, along comes Ernest, a rich movie director with deep baby blues that sweep Veronica off her feet. What's a girl to do now?

Cousins

Cousins

Comedy · 1989

When Larry and Maria learn that their respective spouses are cheating on them, they try to turn the tables on them by pretending to have an affair. However, they soon find themselves falling in love.

Desperados

Desperados

Comedy · 2020

A panicked young woman and her two best friends fly to Mexico to delete a ranting email she sent to her new boyfriend. On arrival, they run into her former beau, who soon gets caught up in their frantic scheme.

Someone Like You...

Someone Like You...

Comedy · 2001

Jane Goodale has everything going for her. She's a producer on a popular daytime talk show, and is in a hot romance with the show's dashing executive producer Ray. But when the relationship goes terribly awry, Jane begins an extensive study of the male animal, including her womanizing roommate Eddie. Jane puts her studies and romantic misadventure to use as a pseudonymous sex columnist -- and becomes a sensation.

Splitsville

Splitsville

Comedy · 2025

After Ashley asks for a divorce, good-natured Carey runs to his friends, Julie and Paul, for support. He’s shocked to discover that the secret to their happiness is an open marriage, that is until Carey crosses the line and throws all of their relationships into chaos.

I Want You Back

I Want You Back

Comedy · 2022

Peter and Emma thought they were on the precipice of life’s biggest moments – marriage, kids, and houses in the suburbs – until their respective partners dumped them. Horrified to learn that the loves of their lives have already moved on, Peter and Emma hatch a hilarious plan to win back their exes with unexpected results.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Comedy · 1941

Happily married for three years, Ann and David Smith live in New York. One morning Ann asks David if he had to do it over again, would he marry her? To her shock, he answers, "No". Later that day, they separately discover that, due to a legal complication, they are not legally married.

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

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.