Mr. Wonderful

Anthony Minghella's sophomore feature, and easily his least well known film. It's not too hard to see why. It seems like a pretty generic romantic comedy. I would say that's being unfair, though, as the characters are a little better written than you would expect from the genre, and there is a little more emotional connection, too. But, in the end, it opts for formula instead of trying to figure out a more believable solution. It should be mentioned that this is the only film Minghella directed in which he didn't have a hand in the screenplay. The film stars Matt Dillon and Annabella Sciorra as a divorced couple. Sciorra relies on alimony payments to live, and Dillon is unable to move forward in his current relationship with Mary Louise Parker or to invest in a bowling alley which his friends want to buy. The solution: find a suitable partner for the ex to marry, thus ending alimony. For a long time, it didn't seem like the movie was lame enough to have Dillon fall for his ex-wife, but, alas, that's what eventually happens. Personally, I was so smitten by Mary Louise Parker that I was especially disappointed. Then again, Dillon does come off as kind of a jerk, so I guess I didn't really care with whom he ended up. It's still moderately entertaining, but the straw that breaks the camel's back is the transcendently awful smooth jazz score. Apparently, the composer isn't even listed in the credits (at least IMDb doesn't list who wrote it), but this person deserves to be beaten.

"Mr. Wonderful", predictable and obvious like most films of this genre, tells of a NYC hard hat electrician (Dillon) who tries to marry off his exwife (Sciorra) so he can put his alimony money toward his stake in a bowling alley. The film received several good reviews and works on many levels where similar films fail. "Mr. Wonderful" has an excellent cast, doesn't get too sappy, is well crafted and reasonably smart, and has a fresh and fun kind of "feel" to it. An enjoyable watch for romantics in need a break from hardcore drama.

This movie is very cute and Matt Dillon is, of course, very good.He plays his role as an electrician very well. The role of his friend is also played very well and strangely enough the two love interests of his ex-wife's were very well acted( the professor and the pharmacist.)However, his girlfriend and his wife, in my opinion, were not well cast at all and neither one had much chemistry with Dillon. The girlfriend came off as whiny and the wife as a helpless sap at times. However, I enjoyed the film. It was clever and romantic.

I just watched this on TV and enjoyed it as much for the cast as well as the light hearted story.

Seeing a thinner younger James Gandolfini with Annabelle Sciorra years prior to the Sopranos was a surprise as well as seeing Vincent D'Onofrio as a shy singing druggist instead of an intense detective or someone on the edge of sanity.

The rest of the supporting players are a tribute to the talent pool available to producers who need to fill background roles with actors with as much talent as the leads.

Luis Guzman does a great job as always along with Dan Hedaya, Bruce Kirby and William Hurt. There is even a too brief appearance by Saverio Guerra as the landscaper driving the truck. If you wondered where you saw him before it was as the laughable Bob character on Ted Danson's enjoyable series Becker.

I expected this movie to bore me within the first five minutes, but I had an afternoon to kill and there was a rerun of a home improvement show I could watch. I got a pleasant surprise and never did check into ways to repaint the kitchen. I found the plot to be original because of Dillon's machinations to get another guy the girl. He's not much of a matchmaker, but he seems to sincerely want hi ex-wife to be happy. The end was predictable, but Sciorra and Dillon are convincing as angry ex- spouses who have gone in different directions and the numerous character actors fill in the occasional boring spots, especially Dan Hedeya - I like anything he does though, so I am biased.