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.
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Grace
Comedy · Drama · Romance · 2018
A famous writer begins suffering from a crippling case of writer's block. His agent sends him a strange, belligerent woman to be his new assistant, hoping the change will inspire him.
Movie details
Grace
“Her new job is his new headache.”
2018 Comedy · Drama · Romance 1h 41m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
A famous writer begins suffering from a crippling case of writer's block. His agent sends him a strange, belligerent woman to be his new assistant, hoping the change will inspire him.
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 Grace?
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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Which Brings Me to You
Romance · 2023
Two romantic burnouts, Jane and Will, are immediately drawn to each other at a mutual friend’s wedding. After a disastrous hookup in the coatroom, the two spend the next 24 hours together, trading candid confessions of messy histories and heartbreak, on the off chance that this fling might be the real thing.
L.A. Without a Map
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An aspiring Hollywood actress, on a visit to a charming North England town, has a brief fling with the town undertaker, who also writes obituaries for the local paper. Returning home, where she works as a waitress at a Japanese restaurant, she tells everyone about the handsome "writer" she met on her trip. Unfortunately, he decides to follow her back to Hollywood, setting up the expected light romantic comedy with asides as the newcomer gains experience about the goings on in Hollywood.
Peace, Love & Misunderstanding
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A conservative lawyer named Diane takes her two teenage children Jake and Zoe to meet their estranged, hippie grandmother in Woodstock after her husband asks for a divorce.
A California Christmas
Comedy · 2020
With his carefree lifestyle on the line, a wealthy charmer poses as a ranch hand to get a hardworking farmer to sell her family’s land before Christmas.
I Met a Girl
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An aspiring musician struggling with schizophrenia falls for a mysterious woman who may be all in his head. When she suddenly vanishes, he takes off on a cross-country journey across Australia to find her, forcing his long-suffering brother to chase after him.
Holiday Harmony
Romance · 2022
A likeable and talented underdog gets momentarily sidelined from chasing her musical dreams when her van breaks down in a welcoming small town just before Christmas.
A California Christmas: City Lights
Romance · 2021
Follows Callie and Joseph one year after they fell in love, now running a dairy farm and winery, but their romance is threatened when business and family obligations call Joseph back to the city.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Devin Adair
Written by
Devin Adair
Katie Cassidy
Dawn Walsh
Tate Donovan
Charlie Elliston
Matthew Lillard
Bernie Wexler
Debby Ryan
Nicole
Missi Pyle
Liz
Mircea Monroe
Mia
Hugo Armstrong
Val
Court is in session
Put Grace 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.