WORST MOVIE EVER!!! - The Great New Wonderful (2005) Discussion

[–] patriciag56-1 18 years ago

LOCO, you pulled the words right out of my mouth! My husband and I love 'Monk', so when we saw Tony Shaloub on the cover of the movie along with some other comfortably familiar faces (Edie Falco, Maggie Gyllenhaal, etc..), we said,"How bad could this be? It's a comedy with a great cast!" How bad could it be? They haven't even invented a word to describe how bad this movie is. All I can think of is that a lot of this movie ended up on the cutting room floor--I can't imagine how they got this great cast to waste even a moment of their lives making this film.

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[–] humansare 18 years ago

so it wasn't a comedy, that doesn't make it any less of a great film. take the time to think about how you could relate, then come back to me with that long long list. it's actually a rather insightful film.... maybe it's just because i live in new york, but i feel like this film really 'gets' humanity post-9/11 in new york.

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[–] para_dimension 16 years ago

I agree.

And I just bought the movie on the second hand rack at the video store, and I'd already heard really good things, and really bad things. So was prepared.

I found it was a tad confusing (alright, very... haha) but it all made sense near the end as I got the characters straight.

I went into the bonus features and you could choose to watch all the stories separately. I think I'll do that next time. I think it would be much better as a couple, organized short films, rather than a feature-length jumble.

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[–] kennybr811 18 years ago

wow, what an insightful and detailed review. you should be a movie critic.

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[–] ColBatGuano 18 years ago

BeautifulScarlett. What do you mean by "I tried so hard to like this movie"? How does one do this: try to like something.

This is not a sarcastic post. I have heard this expression before but I don't know what it means.

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[–] glumpy_99 17 years ago

ColBatGuano, I believe this expression is usually used for a movie you are willing to go along with and really want to like, whether it be on the basis of an actor/director you love, subject matter that fascinates you, etc. but ultimately cannot, because of flaws that stand out and taint your enjoyment. It's the opposite reaction to a case where, for instance, you might love George Clooney and Brad Pitt; therefore your reaction to the OCEAN trilogy is likely to be far more positive than someone who doesn't like Clooney and Pitt.

Being a Clooney fan myself, "I tried so hard to like" OCEAN'S 13, but my awareness of its flaws counteracted my affection for the stars. In this case it appears BeautifulScarlett was willing to cut some slack for the movie because she liked Maggie Gyllenhaal, but the flaws in the movie were too much to forgive.

Robert Altman
1925-2006
RIP

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[–] PilarPalabundo 17 years ago

I stopped watching about 30 minutes into it and I had already fast-forwarded through 15 minutes of it. It went nowhere quick and there was nothing in the first 30 minutes that was even slightly humorous.

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[–] mxt52 17 years ago

Interestingly, those who think it's a worst movie ever don't really give any details about what they actually did not like about the movie - speaks volume about depth of their introspection.

I always knew than Tony Shaloub is more than extremely likeable, but a bit cartoonish Mr. Monk, and I was not really surprised that the movie's director Danny Leiner is also the director of "Harold and Kumar" - something set "H&KDWC" apart from your typical grossed-out stoned college movie.

In the Great New Wonderful the weight is carried not by headliners (Shaloub, Falco), except of course Maggie Gyllenhaal, but by "supporting role" actors who in this movie get a chance to show their true talents. My hat goes off to Judy Greer, Olympia Dukakis, Jim Gaffigan - most of us know their faces, but not their names.

The movie is a rare gem - fragile, loving, humanistic story, full of sad irony and love for all of us, trying day after day to make something out of our lives.

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[–] zijman-1 17 years ago

I really wanted to like this movie but I felt like I still don't know what the connection is between the characters. I also felt that there were times where the movie seemed like it was going to end but didn't. I felt like that like 5 times while watching it. I know it means well but I think it missed the mark. Performances were great...I just don't think the message translated well to the screen. After watching it I looked at the dvd case to figure out what the movie was really about but the description was just as vague as the movie. Worst movie ever is a bit exagerrated.

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[–] bluejay8 17 years ago

Anybody expecting a knee-slapper from this based on the premise doesn't deserve their time or money back if they didn't like it - pay more attention next time. If you were expecting something along the lines of "Terms of Endearment" and were a bit disapointed, I will give you that, as I was expecting it to be a bit deeper and emotionally stirring than it was, not to mention a bit more humor. With that being said, It's a very decent to good film. I laughed hard at 2 or 3 of the scenes with Gaffigan and Shalhoub, and enjoyed the scenes with the parents and their outrageous kid as well. The other two stories were less engrossing, and I couldn't stand Maggie G's character from the beginning, but overall it was a decent film that I will probably watch again down the line a bit. I would definately be willing to sit through 5 back to back showings of this rather than watch half of a lot of the crap movies I've sat through (either by my own stupidity or being dragged to them by a date, etc.) If you think this movie is so terrible, I'd invite you sit through "Forces Of Nature" or "Duplex" sometime...

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[–] itsmargochanning 17 years ago

For me, this is one of those people meters. The way a person reacts to this movie indicates my compatibility with them. Another one is "Idiocracy." But the term that jumped out at me from the OP is, "comfortably familiar faces..." and it suggests that this is a person who wants to feel comfortable and familiar. Hey, nothing wrong with that. That's what most TV shows are for, and most studio pictures. These people do not want to be disturbed, confronted or challenged, and this movie does all of that, in (my opinion) a beautiful, artistic, touching, soulful way. They said in the 70's, "different strokes for different folks." I'm sure I don't have to tell OP to stay away from David Lynch!!! And if you love this movie, welcome to my world: you're home.

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[–] Dave1136 17 years ago

Why the hell didn't I listen to you???? Plain CRAP!

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[–] anheyla 17 years ago

I liked the movie...most of the way. I was just WAITING for something to happen. I don't see what actual inpact 9/11 had on the characters. It just sort of ended. Seemed to lead me on and hold my attention, but left me hanging. I was looking forward to the meaning and connection to pull it all together to amaze me, but I was shouwn a 9/11 scene and the movie ended. Did they use that just to have it in the movie to promote it? Maybe I am wrong...maybe it is something I can't understand since I am not a new yorker. Nevertheless I wonder about that kid. And what about that guy in therepy. And what building did they all just happen to be in to all end up in an elevator? Was that the connection? If so...lame.

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[–] CrystallineBlue 17 years ago

"Lame" pretty much sums up this entire movie.

I watched the entire movie waiting for something to happen - sadly, nothing did. 90 minutes I won't get back.

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[–] rzajac 10 years ago

Well, the sub-stories do pretty much "wrap up". WAITING, itself, isn't so bad--in fact, that can be a sure sign that a flick (or a good book, or any good narrative medium) is doing what it's _supposed to_ be doing. You just didn't register the wrap-ups in a satisfying way. They worked for me, and made the waiting worthwhile.

Y'know, this is why most Hollywood producers are chicken, and run scripts thru a "script doctor"; they're really, really scared of responses like yours.

--
And I'd like that. But that 5h1t ain't the truth. --Jules Winnfield

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[–] eric-eerriicc 17 years ago

While I wouldn't say it's the worst movie ever, it certainly was one of the worst I've seen lately. Talk about a snooze fest. My fiance and I finished the movie, but here less than 24 hours later, I couldn't possibly try to explain to someone how the characters were connected, what the point was, or why this movie is billed as a comedy.

Maybe one needs to be a New Yorker to appreciate this movie?

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[–] noahtenzin 16 years ago

http://shareddarkness.com/2006/07/21/the-great-new-wonderful.aspx

^ Nah, NOT the worst movie ever. Decently insightful review here...

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[–] 16 years ago

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