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A Thousand Words

A Thousand Words

Drama · Comedy · Fantasy · 2012

Jack McCall is a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack’s life comes unglued after a magical Bodhi tree mysteriously appears in his backyard. With every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls from the tree and he realizes that when the last leaf falls, both he and the tree are toast. Words have never failed Jack McCall, but now he’s got to stop talking and conjure up some outrageous ways to communicate or he’s a goner.

Movie details

A Thousand Words

“He only has 1000 words left to discover what matters the most.”

2012 Drama · Comedy · Fantasy 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

Jack McCall is a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack’s life comes unglued after a magical Bodhi tree mysteriously appears in his backyard. With every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls from the tree and he realizes that when the last leaf falls, both he and the tree are toast. Words have never failed Jack McCall, but now he’s got to stop talking and conjure up some outrageous ways to communicate or he’s a goner.

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 A Thousand Words?

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

Brian Robbins

Written by

Steve Koren

Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy

Jack McCall

Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington

Caroline McCall

Cliff Curtis

Cliff Curtis

Dr. Sinja

Clark Duke

Clark Duke

Aaron Wiseberger

Allison Janney

Allison Janney

Samantha Davis

E

Emanuel Ragsdale

Tyler McCall

Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee

Annie McCall

Court is in session

Put A Thousand Words 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.