The Worst Film Ever

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

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

'WONDERFUL World' comes in a long line of movies about the rejuvenating powers of black people. In fact, it's views of race are similar to France's The Intouchables, the winner of the Best Foreign Film at the Oscars this year, and many, many more flicks of this nature.Another beef I have with the movie is its date of release. It's reaching Malaysian shores after three years, and disguised as an 'international movie' to give it an aura of respectability.In 'Wonderful World', writer-director Joshua Goldin puts Ben Singer (Matthew Broderick) at the lowest possible moment in his life and then drags him out the pit with the help of Ibu (Michael K. Williams) and his sister Khadi (Sanaa Lathan). Ben is shown taking an elevator going down, metaphorically saying that his life is going downhill.Ben used to harbour hopes of making it big as a children's musician, but a record company let him down and he's now a proofreader in a law firm. His pessimistic view of life does not make him popular among his colleagues, who shun him and don't call him to after-office events.His ex-wife Eliza (Ally Walker) married a wealthy guy. When asked if she's happy with her good life now, she says that she didn't enjoy seeing life through his eyes, but she's now happy with what she sees. His daughter, Sandra (Jodelle Ferland), 11, is bored with him and even avoids him.His only decent contact with the world is his Senegalese roommate Ibu, who beats him at chess and offers deep thoughts of the world. Viewers get a whiff of what's to come.One thing leads to another and the diabetic Ibu is hospitalised when he falls into a coma. His sister comes from Senegal to take care of him. She also warms Ben's toes in bed at night.Ben suddenly finds a higher purpose in life. Khadi lights candles to encourage spirits to look over her sick brother, she cooks down-to-earth food and even teaches Ben's daughter to dance with without a care in the world.If Ben suddenly begins to believe in life, viewers will find it hard to believe that Khadi could fall for Ben. Perhaps there's something to be said about opposites attract, as the vivacious Khadi is poles apart from the miserable Ben.Broderick's hangdog face and expression are competent, but the movie saddles him with boring dialogue.www.jeffleemovies.com

Netflix is redefining my view of what a good film is, giving me the ability to find golden nuggets like Wonderful World. I'm not sure I would have found this one otherwise.I enjoyed the great character acting of Matthew Broderick and Sanaa Lathan, the occasional imagined appearance of "The Man" (Philip Baker Hall), and provocative insights from Ibu (Michael K. Williams) - a man who is central to the movie in a way I won't reveal to prevent a spoiler. Broderick plays Ben Singer who is the world's biggest cynic and ironically a man who had BEEN a semi-successful SINGER (I just caught on to the play on words). Broderick leads us through Singer's path of depression, despair, and emotionally draining cynicism while pausing frequently for hallucinations featuring "The Man"; presumably which are a result of some really good or really bad weed, depending on your perspective of what if anything makes weed good.This wasn't a film looking for an ending and didn't follow "film-making 101". Instead, it told a story. It had a great soundtrack that much like this film, was just too quiet to be a commercial success.Broderick has been in films that made him a household name most especially to my generation (I was inspired enough by War Games to become a programmer, which I have been for many years now). Although few people will watch this film because there isn't a big studio promoting it, this is the best acting I have seen from Broderick - even better than The Producers which he was a great performance. This was a different genre film so I wouldn't compare the two. It was produced and written by Joshua Goldin who was a writer in a 1992 movie Broderick was in called Out on a Limb. It must be interesting having written for the younger and older Broderick at two very different times in his career.Great job to the whole cast. I am trying to find the soundtrack so I can add it to my Pandora Queue. Great acting and great music.

I am only writing a review because I cannot let stand the positive notices here. Someone else will come along and be floored that any 2 people could find this cliché fest anything but annoying. Unbelievable, dumb, trite, a hack. Pu-leeze, my wife & I sat through this because we could not believe how bad it was - but it just kept getting worse, right to the end! On the plus side the little girl who played the daughter was good. But nothing makes up for the pain of seeing Michael K. Williams - who was GREAT as Omar Little in The Wire - in this dreck- fest.OK, don't believe me - rent this film, watch it - but don't say you weren't warned!

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.