Simply Perfect

Good start, but then it gets ruined

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Ben Singer (Matthew Broderick) is a bitter cynic who is stuck in a dead-end job and always railing against his imaginary The Man (Philip Baker Hall). He's divorced from Eliza (Ally Walker) and his daughter Sandra (Jodelle Ferland) is struggling in all the negativity. His only friend and Senegalese roommate Ibou (Michael K. Williams) falls into a diabetic coma. His car gets towed after a complaint by an uncaring neighbor. Ibou's sister Khadi (Sanaa Lathan) arrives from Senegal. Ben's workmate Cyril (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) finds out that he used to be a successful kid entertainer and tries to befriend him.Despite Ben's relentless cynicism, I still kind of like him. Matthew Broderick has that kind of world weariness from his performance in Election. This is a black comedy but I don't necessarily find it funny. It's actually sincere in its misanthropic vision. I like his relationship with his daughter. There are holes in his life story. The character was once a successful man. There must be a wealth of material to dig into from that situation. Also I think his relationship with Khadi could be resolved better.Bottom Line, this is an interesting cynic's lament but it could have been funnier.

I found this film to very well written and directed. The story is about the life we all lead and all its obstacles, which are superbly edited to show them to us, but not too grimly.It pats you on the back relatively quickly with elements that seem extraordinary but really are natural phenomenons and not to be taken seriously. It generously shows how seeing the world in such a way can impact harshly on you, but how you still learn from the experience.It grasps upon the warmth and clarity that can be gained from truly compatible relationships when looking at the world through these eyes, in this way, it presents a seek and you shall find attitude.The ending is... well when you find the end, there will be the beginning. One of my favorite films.

WONDERFUL WORLD (2010) *** Matthew Broderick, Sanaa Lathan, Michael K. Williams, Jodelle Ferland, Philip Baker Hall, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ally Walker. Broderick is in fine form as a jaded, misanthropic former singer/songwriter of children's' tunes whose lack of ambition is only exceeded by his self-loathing and apathy of everyone and everything. One fateful day awakens him to new possibilities when his Senegalese roomie (Williams) suffers a diabetic shock to the system/coma and new hope arrives in the form of his comely sister (Lathan equally good here) who comes to stay with Broderick awaiting out the progress reports. What follows is a relatively well-acted dramedy with some intriguing looks at just how the socio-economic status is so in flux with what should be right and should be wrong thanks to novice director Joshua Goldin's sharply etched screenplay. The film's only falter is the ill-advised use of an imaginary character, "The Man" (veteran character actor Baker Hall) who is pretty much forgotten in the process.

Wonderful World is a complete pleasure, and an increasingly rare experience in American movies: A truly real and thoroughly enjoyable story about real people. It is about what happens when bitterness is replaced with hope, and when anger for the world turns to understanding. And although it has plenty of laughs, it is at its core both a compelling love story and a story about the importance of friendship. This is a perfect role for Matthew Broderick, who doesn't generally find material of this quality to work with. I'm looking forward to the next film from Josh Goldin, for whom this directing debut is a great accomplishment and hopefully a harbinger of more and even better things to come. Seems it took him a while to get this first directing gig off the ground, which makes one wonder, when contemplating all the slick formulaic cynical product that usually pours like vomit from the throat of Hollywood. Wonderful World is a closely observed story with a big heart. Go see it -- it will make you feel good.