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 
Playing by Heart
Comedy · Drama · Romance · 1998
In a vibrant tapestry of love and longing, nine interconnected souls navigate romance and heartbreak in L.A., where passions collide and truths unfold, revealing that the heart's desires often lead us where we least expect.
Movie details
Playing by Heart
“If romance is a mystery, there's only one way to figure it out.”
1998 Comedy · Drama · Romance 2h 1m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
In a vibrant tapestry of love and longing, nine interconnected souls navigate romance and heartbreak in L.A., where passions collide and truths unfold, revealing that the heart's desires often lead us where we least expect.
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 Playing by Heart?
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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She's Having a Baby
Comedy · 1988
Jake and Kristy Briggs are newlyweds. Being young, they are perhaps a bit unprepared for the full reality of marriage and all that it (and their parents) expect from them. Do they want babies? Their parents certainly want them to. Is married life all that there is? Things certainly aren't helped by Jake's friend Davis, who always seems to turn up just in time to put a spanner in the works.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Willard Carroll
Written by
Willard Carroll
Gillian Anderson
Meredith
Ellen Burstyn
Mildred
Sean Connery
Paul
Anthony Edwards
Roger
Angelina Jolie
Joan
Jay Mohr
Mark
Ryan Phillippe
Keenan
Court is in session
Put Playing by Heart 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.