Next Stop Wonderland

This is a very enjoyable movie. I must admit that I had my doubts at first, as it looked far too sugary for my taste. Poor marketing I guess. However, this is the first movie in years which I watched and then watched again the next day. Hope Davis' character, Erin, elicits many emotions -- the first of which is pity. Having been dumped by what is clearly the wrong man, we witness her attempt to re-enter the dating scene. She is immediately catapulted back into the world of losers, married men, and guys who are downright scary. She handles all of this with grace, but more than a hint of cynicism. You can often see the depression in her face, as she moves from one date to the next, always telling her friends that "there's no such thing as destiny." And yet, there is (as she discovers.)

Her character seems very much the essence of the modern young single person: She tells herself she is happy alone, but quietly yearns for the depth of true love. She is never rude, except when it's deserved, but she is never particularly friendly either. She inadvertantly wears the scars of years of dating on her sleeve. A very subtle and clever performance from the ethereal and under-appreciated Hope Davis. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Spiffy little romance/comedy which didn't follow in the footsteps of most in this genre. Perfectly paced with nice doses of nifty dialogue, a plethora of all sorts of characters, and a pair of leading players who came off as real people with the same needs as all of us. The leading lady was torn between her need for a mate and her distaste for all the hubbub that such a search entails. The leading man didn't appear to need a mate as much as he needed to shuck his routine job in favor of the more interesting marine biologist. This, at times, paled in comparison to his money problems and having to deal with a shady character and his muscle bound crony lurking menacingly just behind. Good film, and you'll love that aquarium.

Take a tour through some gorgeous Boston sights, even some kinda grubby under the (soon-to-be-erased by the Big Dig) elevated streets. I loved the Puffer-fish in our wonderful New England aquarium. And is this Gelfant guy sexy-----whoah!!! The sight of him and the flirty student he's mentoring eating each other up on the whale-watching boat was OUTSTANDING!! With all his obvious knowledge of the girl's crush and her wiley ways, he STILL gives into the animal chemistry in a surprising rush. I am SO tired of obviously phony kisses onscreen that this one caught me off-guard.

If you've ever done a dating ad thing, you'll empathize with the heroine's disgust at the pitiful and revolting lines of the many 'candidates' she meets. When one lowers his pseudo-intellectual facade long enough for you to see the human being behind, you want to scream, "Why didn't you show THIS part of yourself to her before you lost the chance?" Of course, the 3-way bet by the scum bums ends well as they get their just desserts. The well-meaning but meddling mother behind it all who placed the ad is well-written and well-played.

It's enough to watch the superb photography to buy this movie, but the many boy-girl angles portrayed also make it worthwhile. It could have been entitled, "What Not to Do on a First Date". I own it and am looking forward to giving it to my unmarried son as a tutorial. I also lend it out to people I want to lure to Boston.

Erin's boyfriend leaves her after years together with nothing more than a video tape featuring the reasons why he has left. Finding herself single again, Erin is forced back into the market when her mother puts her in the classified ads. Meanwhile Alan is a plumber pursuing his dream of becoming a marine biologist. However volunteering at the local aquarium doesn't earn him any money which is a problem given the gambling depths that his father has amassed with loan shark Frank.

A very slight film, this indie-romance will appeal to those who see the false sentiment of Hollywood romcoms as below them but yet also yearn for the sweet, fated romance that they normally contain. This compromise is well delivered in this film that will appeal to the same audience that seek this mix. The plot has the elements of the contrived hand of fate and it is amusing the way the two characters drift around one another. It doesn't have a great deal of substance to it and it will annoy some viewers because of how knowingly "kooky" it all it is. It is rarely hilarious but it is sweet and amusing throughout. The presence of Anderson as writer and director drew me to this film as I know him as a name from Homicide, The Shield and the brilliant The Wire. This film has little in common with these but is still worth a look for doing what it does do well.

The cast help matters greatly by turning in "indie" performances while delivering the rather sentimental material. Davis is a fine example of what I mean as she is very much a "kooky" type while also having enough humanity about her to make her character interesting. Gelfant is very much a secondary character of the two but he does well enough considering he is supposed to representing Mr Right. The support cast compliments the overall feel of the film with turns from Argo, Hoffman, Buono, Zúñiga and The Wire's Gilliard Jr all in small roles.

Overall then a kooky romance for those who want the silly emotion of the Hollywood romcoms without all their gloss and sweeping music. Slight and an acquired taste perhaps but amusing and sweet even if it is quite forgettable.

"Next Stop Wonderland" is a fresh, fun, smart, and sassy romantic comedy which sticks Davis out in front as a typically jaded revolving door dating single who is on a collision course with Mr. Right (Gelfant). There's not an ounce of fat on this lean little indie which is imbued with a sense of destiny, the sound of Brazil, and scene to scene unpredictability with periodic poignant pauses and brief philosophical passages all seeming unique to Anderson's auteursmanship. Intelligent and hip fun for romcom junkies. (B)