“Wonderful World”: Movie Trailer Review

12/19/2009 Posted by Admin

By our guest blogger, Michaela Zanello

Ben Singer would appreciate this Woody Allen quote: “I don’t see the glass as half empty. I see it as half full—of poison.” For Ben, the protagonist of director Josh Goldin’s debut feature, “Wonderful World,” life isn’t exactly rainbows and butterflies. Rather, Ben sees the world as a place of “terrorism, atomic bombs and Genocide of mythic proportions.”

Mathew Broderick co-stars with Sanaa Lathan and Philip Baker Hall in this bittersweet comedy about a cynical killjoy who rediscovers his relish for humanity through his family, friends and tête-à-têtes with his imaginary confidant, “The Man.”

Ben Singer (Broderick) isn’t the kind of guy who’s got the world on a string. He’s a divorced, every-other-weekend dad and a failed children’s folk singer who recently has added unemployed proofreader to his resume of gloom. The only consolations in Ben’s life are smoking pot by his lonesome and playing chess with his Senegalese roommate, Ibou (Michael Kenneth Williams). That is, however, until Ibou suddenly falls ill. This is the turning point when the plot wheels are really set into motion. Ben then begins a psychedelic relationship with a guru-like being, who refers to himself as “The Man” (Baker Hall), and Ibou’s earthily sexy sister (Lathan) arrives from Senegal and moves into Ben’s apartment.

Instead of employing narration from a thunder-throated voiceover artist, the trailer for “Wonderful World” instead chooses to use the accessible intonation of Matthew Broderick himself to establish character and premise. This choice, in addition to the subtle and very charming acoustic guitar played in the background, give this trailer an inviting, homey quality, much like chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, which transcends Ben’s paramount pessimism.

“Wonderful World” appears to be the kind of film that, if it is not careful, could easily slip into a mawkish quagmire of sentimental muck. Yet, based on the trailer, it seems that there may be a few twists and turns in the plot that hopefully will keep the film grounded enough so as to prevent the viewer from gagging on too many sugar-coated life lessons. Plus, Matthew Broderick appears to be set to deliver an altogether captivating performance with just the right amount of edginess, thus allowing the viewer to empathize with his character without having him be entirely agreeable.

View the trailer for "Wonderful World" below. Thoughts?

  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Facebook
  • TwitThis
  • MySpace
  • LinkedIn
  • Live
  • Google
  • Reddit
  • Sphinn
  • Propeller
  • Slashdot
  • Netvibes

0 comments: