mawkish

The dialogue was more dignified: no brainless chatter or mawkish introductions.

Not to be mawkish, but one of the things I like about the show is that if I saw it when I was 18, I think I would’ve enjoyed it.

This dialogue verges on the mawkish: “What does hermaphrodite mean?”

“Hourglass” suffers for its sometimes mawkish language, places where Goddard reaches for earnestness but sounds insincere, or just immature.

It sounds mawkish, but the picture’s low-key vibe and offhand humor land with surprising grace.