Wonderful World

Amazon.com The title is ironic, of course, for according to Ben Singer (Matthew Broderick), the Wonderful World is anything but. For Ben, life is basically "crap." The money mongers rule everything, "the man" is out to get us, "positive thinking" is a cruel joke, hope and human kindness are rumors. And he's got the wounds to prove it: an erstwhile children's musical entertainer, he was dropped by his label because his CD didn't sell. His current proofreading gig is a dead end. His ex-wife is a cold fish whose new man is a jerk. And even though his coworkers mock him ("the anti-everything," one calls him), his ex informs him that his daughter doesn't want to see him because he makes her feel bad, and his upbeat roommate (Michael K. Williams), a Senegalese immigrant, gently chides him ("Maybe you should look at the world as your friend," he says), Ben is resolute in his cynicism and unhappiness. But we know that will change--heck, the movie wouldn't exist otherwise--and that's exactly what happens when the roomie falls seriously ill and his beautiful sister, Khadi (Sanaa Lathan), arrives from Dakar to look after him. Much of what happens thereafter is predictable (shades of The Visitor, with a bit more skin), but not all of it, which is writer-director Joshua Goldin's film's saving grace. Broderick is almost too decent and puppyish to play a misanthrope (he's not exactly Jack Nicholson in As Good as It Gets), and he doesn't seem entirely comfortable with the role. Still, the fact that you could make a certain amount of this movie with a cookie cutter doesn't undermine it; Wonderful World is no game changer, but it works. --Sam Graham Product Description A bittersweet comedy about families, friends and a frivolous fight against corporate institutions, Matthew Broderick (FINDING AMANDA, "The Producers") plays Ben Singer, a failed children's folk singer, a newly unemployed proofreader and an every-other-weekend dad to his young daughter (Jodelle Ferland), who prefers pretty much anything to listening to her dad's pessimistic ramblings. Struggling in all aspects of his life, Ben's only comforts come from smoking marijuana alone and regular chess games with his smart and opinionated Senegalese roommate Ibou (Michael Kenneth Williams, "The Wire," THE ROAD). When Ibou is suddenly struck ill and an insensitive municipal employee exacerbates the emergency situation, Ben pours his energy into a lawsuit against the city for depraved indifference. Ben's life begins to turn around with the arrival of Ibou's beautiful and sexy sister Khadi (Sanaa Lathan, THE FAMILY THAT PREYS) from Senegal, who moves into Ibou's room in Ben's apartment. As Ben suspects that it is his own cynicism corroding the beauty around him, he realizes that it's all a matter of perspective. (studio)
ASIN: B0031REQJA
VSKU: DBV.B0031REQJA.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Matthew Broderick|Michael Kenneth Williams|Philip Baker Hall|Sanaa Lathan|Josh Goldin
Binding: Dvd
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case may show wear and may be in library packaging. Ships Fast!