Wonderful World

I saw this movie at the Tribeca Film Festival this past spring, and I was truly moved. It reminds me of "It's a Wonderful Life", one of those movies that really touches the soul. It's the story of a man who gets tripped up by his own negativity (reminds me of my husband!), but is actually a good person, and yearns to connect. It features Matthew Broderick's best performance since "Election", and I cried at the end. As did my two friends who came with me. We were totally unprepared to be so swept away by emotion. So many films these days are mindless crap, but this one is authentic and honest, and very very funny. I want the soundtrack too!

Also for "The Wire" fans, it also stars Omar, a.k.a Michael Williams, one of the greatest actors working today.

Beware all you Matthew Broderick fans, this is NOT a funny movie, because it is a slowburning portrait about a grumpy, middle aged, divorced man, stuck in a a dead end job. Quite depressing...

The bad: this movie is slow, very SLOW and kinda depressing. I dont mind slow or even depressing when it is a heavy drama, but I DO mind boring and this movie is undoubtedly BORING.. There is no real drama either to speak of. So what's left? The acting isnt great either, I mean for such a character portrait movie like this, the acting should be up there, but the acting is just average.

More bad: although it is not meant to be comedy, there are still some tongue in cheek jokes, but they fall flat as well. This whole movie feels so uninspired and slow.

Not any good? Well, the movie has got a happy end, but in the end this is one of the weakest movies that Matthew Broderick has ever starred in. He just aint suited for making slowburning "dramas". Better watch any older (eighties/nineties) movie with Matthew Broderick in it, there are lots of them, which are truly hilariously funny!

If you've seen a recent Bill Murray movie (Broken Flowers, etc) maybe you know what I'm talking about. Movies like this carry a certain vibe that's hard to explain... they feel cold, lonely, witty but sad and slightly nostalgic.

I suppose it's because there's a lot of silence, not a lot of emotion (despite emotional circumstances), and the scenes are bright but not colourful. If you've ever been in a hospital waiting room, that's the feeling.

"Wonderful World" is one of those films about a-day-in-the-life-of-a-schmuck, which are generally fun to watch (the best being "Buffalo 66"... if you haven't seen it GO SEE IT NOW). But I was left a little unfulfilled by WW. I think it's because it portrays the world as a really nasty, unjust place. Sure, that's whole the point of a-day-in-the-life-of-a-schmuck movies, but in this case it was just torturous.

I also thought Matthew Broderick was slightly miscast. Through no fault of his own, he has too much of a youthful, innocent look to come across as a bitter cynic, which is what this film demanded. Still, his acting was excellent (absolutely brilliant in some scenes), and if you like Broderick it'll be fun to see him in this very uncharacteristic role.

If you like slow & heavy comedy-dramas like "The Weather Man" or "Magnolia" or possibly "The Majestic" (though these films are not really comedies), you might like "Wonderful World".

This is a smart, satisfying film, and a triumph for Broderick. We haven't seen such a great anti-establishment hero since The Big Lebowski.

All the characters are brilliantly written by Goldin, and, likewise, brilliantly portrayed by the actors. Matthew Broderick's performance as Ben Singer has an assured and measured nuance -- a really fine role. Michael Williams (Ibu) shows his impressive range with a wonderful character, so distinct from his iconic Omar on The Wire. Sanaa Lathan's Khadi is a strong memorable sensual beauty. Twelve year old Jodelle Ferland as Sandra, Ben's daughter, is a revelation and certainly a comer.

Wonderful World will make you laugh and it will make you cry. You want to go see this flick.

I tend to see the true story and plot, and very well, because you see, it is many people's story. Hey! it is, to a large extent, my story in parts.

Ben is like many of us - a washed-out entertainer who has developed a cynical view or life, and a jaded point of view with many issues. The fact that he loses his job, loses communication with his only daughter, is forced to deliver pizza, does not help the man's character, but embitters it. I can relate to that. Like Ben, I am a thinker, who does not believe in taking things lying down. I would have gone all the way like he did when the city tow truck towed his car just when his dear Senegalese friend Ibou relapsed into diabetic shock and needed to get to a hospital.

But then, when Ibou's sister Khadi came from Senegal to help take care of him, changes sparked in Ben, slowly at first, almost imperceptible, then more and more pronounced. How could you not fall in love with the curvy Khadi, with her beautiful raw African features, her womanly confidence and her vision of "magic"? No pretentiousness here, no overbearing or meddling - quite the contrary. You tend to admire the inner strength of such women, so akin to their culture and ways of life. I once met a woman like that from Nigeria, whose brother worked as an Engineer in the local Shell corp. The way she moved, her similar dress and grooming, made me look twice and say: "Now THAT is a woman!" Sadly, as in Ben's case, yes, such a relationship is fraught with difficulties, chiefly because of the distance between 2 Worlds. She was uncomfortable in our 'civilized' World, and Ben would not be able to adapt well in hers. Besides, he wanted to resurrect his singing career, and Senegal would not have been the right place, maybe. That too was my case with the girl in question.. However, by then Ben understood 2 things - one of them being that he was a good man, a man without racial prejudice, open, simple and unpretentious. Such men are hard to come by these days. The second thing he realized I will not say. I will leave you to view the movie, and come to your own conclusions.

So it's not the stomping, heart-throbbing drama like you see in other movies, but it will keep you interested and thinking all the way, and that, my friends, is basically what a good story is all about. Fine acting, plausible story, so true to real life. Well worth the 10 points!