has anyone seen this? what do you think it will be rated? i want to see it at tribeca, but long story short, my little brother and sister have to come. they are in sixth grade, but my mom isnt sure if it will be appropriate for them. if they watch Friends all the time, do you think that this film would be appropriate?
shareYes, I've seen a rough cut of it. Everything except the final scoring. It's so awesome!!! Though, I'm biased b/c I'm friends with one of the producers. Tony Shalhoub and Jim Gaffigan steal the movie. Hilarious subtle brilliance. There aren't any sex scenes or violence, so I'd say it's perfectly fine for a younger audience. Some dramatic situations, but not inappropriate. Tell us what you think!!!
sharethank you so much for getting back to me, i'm seeing it on friday ill definitely let you know what i think!!!
shareAs I walked in the door to my house, I couldn't help but think how disappointing The Great New Woderful was tonight at its world premiere in The Tribeca Film Festival. I had not exceedingly high expectations but with a film boasting a cast of such talented actors most of which are in need of their big breakout role, it is hard to place the blame on them and not the mediocrity of a director who butchered potentially elequent material.
I laughed a lot during many of the comedic parts but can't shake how soap opera looking the visuals of the film play on the large screen.
I don't want everyone on this message board to hate me for my negative review, but only two of the many storylines worked. Those were the comedically awkwardness of Jim Gaffigan and Tony Shaloub scenes. The two play off each other brilliantly and the hear-breaking lonliness of Maggie Gyllenhaal as a cake designer drowning in her obsession over her work.
'Wonderful' is a movie with its heart in the right place and could have been an interesting tale of the post 9/11 New York. However, it ends up feeking fake due its lack of style from the director.
Each great director who is known for portrayal of the big apple has their on picturesque flavor of New York that is so evident like Woody Allen's openning credits with early jazz melodies over the titles of the actors names or Scorsese's gritty characters cursing in a glowing street filled with the neon lights of a new york city block (think Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, or Griffen Dune running down the empty blocks of downtown in After Hours). Danny Leiner is missing that quality that leaves a lasting impression.
The Great New Wonderful isn't horrible; it's very bland.
**spoiler alert**
Although I do respect your opinions, I do not agree with them. I felt that Danny Leiner proved himself as not only a dumb comedic director, but also in the dramatic field. The unbelievable ensemble cast (ranging from Olympia Dukakis to Edie Falco) brought us into the film with such emotion and distraught that you are instantly sympathetic, because the feelings are so real.
One of the biggest accomplishments in the film, I think, was the editing. The five different stories were woven together with such grace that they flowed flawlessly from one to the other.
One thing I disagree with you is that this was not a film about post 9/11 New York, this was a film about post 9/11 New Yorkers. The fact that the movie is set in Septemeber 2002 is only a backdrop of the film, it is only to provide more stress and anguish for the characters, like Edie Falco's Safarah Polsky, who says that even after everything, all the press, all the magazines, business is down. She cannot take it to the point where she commits suicide.
The five stories also all work so brilliantly together because in each one there is an underlying theme of pain, from Allison and David's struggle with their psychopathic son Charley, to Judy Hillerman's magizine cutouts she makes every day, and then quickly hides in the closet.
This is a brilliant film that portrays five very different stories which couldn't be more alike, and the accuracy is haunting.
could anyone describe maggie gyllenhaal's character and performance?
shareMaggie Gyllenhaal played a pastry chef who's success is basically up to a sixteen year old brat. I think she played her magnificently, and she really got through the stress and pressure, but also the anguish of her life.
sharehey i heard there are indian actors in this movie...how do they fair?
shareI've seen it in it's early stages as I worked in the office where they did all the post-production sound and I've seen it end to end maybe four times. And the sound guys put so much work into fixing it because production sound was pretty poor.
But overall, the film was very disjointed at the moment and I felt had so little to do with 9/11 that they shouldn't even mention it as a plot point because yes, it is about New York in this tense post 9/11 environment... but it barely connected the audience (in this case, me and my coworkers) to the film. But I thought Maggie was quite good in it. Tony Shalhoub was also pretty fun in it. I am curious to see this finished film because I gave the director a CD of songs I hoped he would pursue to use in his film.