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 
Cabin in the Sky
Music · Fantasy · Comedy · 1943
When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where he learns that he will be sent back to Earth for six months to prove that he deserves to be in heaven. He awakens, remembering nothing and struggles to do right by his devout wife, Petunia, while an angel known as the General and the devil's son, Lucifer Jr., fight for his soul.
Movie details
Cabin in the Sky
“At Last on the Screen! The Musical Comedy Sensation!”
1943 Music · Fantasy · Comedy 1h 38m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where he learns that he will be sent back to Earth for six months to prove that he deserves to be in heaven. He awakens, remembering nothing and struggles to do right by his devout wife, Petunia, while an angel known as the General and the devil's son, Lucifer Jr., fight for his soul.
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 Cabin in the Sky?
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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Strange Magic
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A love potion works its devious charms on fairies, elves and the swamp-dwelling Bog King as they all try to possess the potion for themselves.
Sister Act
Music · 1992
When lively lounge singer Deloris sees her mobster beau commit murder, she is relocated for her protection. Set up in the guise of a nun in a California convent, she proceeds to upend the quiet lives of the resident sisters.
Beetlejuice
Fantasy · 1988
A newly dead New England couple seeks help from a deranged demon exorcist to scare an affluent New York family out of their home.
Arlo the Alligator Boy
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Vincente Minnelli
Written by
Joseph Schrank · Marc Connelly
Ethel Waters
Petunia Jackson
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
Joseph 'Little Joe' Jackson
Lena Horne
Georgia Brown
Louis Armstrong
The Trumpeter
Rex Ingram
Lucius / Lucifer Jr.
K
Kenneth Spencer
The General / Rev. Greene
John 'Bubbles' Sublett
Domino Johnson
Court is in session
Put Cabin in the Sky 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.