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I Used to Be Funny

I Used to Be Funny

Drama · Comedy · 2024

Sam, an aspiring stand-up comedian and au pair struggling with PTSD, weighs whether to join the search for Brooke, a missing teenage girl she used to nanny. As she fights to recover from her trauma and return to the stage, memories of her deep bond with Brooke rush back—making it impossible to ignore her disappearance.

Movie details

I Used to Be Funny

2024 Drama · Comedy 1h 46m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

Sam, an aspiring stand-up comedian and au pair struggling with PTSD, weighs whether to join the search for Brooke, a missing teenage girl she used to nanny. As she fights to recover from her trauma and return to the stage, memories of her deep bond with Brooke rush back—making it impossible to ignore her disappearance.

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 I Used to Be Funny?

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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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ally Pankiw

Written by

Ally Pankiw

Rachel Sennott

Rachel Sennott

Sam Cowell

Olga Petsa

Olga Petsa

Brooke Renner

Jason Jones

Jason Jones

Cameron Renner

Sabrina Jalees

Sabrina Jalees

Paige

Caleb Hearon

Caleb Hearon

Philip

Ennis Esmer

Ennis Esmer

Noah

Dani Kind

Dani Kind

Jill

Court is in session

Put I Used to Be Funny on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.