Matthew Broderick's latest movie, Wonderful World, directed by Joshua Goldin, captures you right away, yet takes you into a world we have all encountered. It has sex, death, a lawsuit, marital problems, Africa, doctors, father-daughter issues, marijuana, job problems and depressing rain scenes. But this is only the surface - behind the dark humor and misfortunes is a shower of sunshine.
The movie is about a former children's songs singer, Ben Singer, whose life is a bit of a mess. He shares a small one-room apartment with a diabetic friend from Africa named Ibou, who ends up in the hospital because of complications from diabetes and falls into a coma. As Ben tries to get him to the hospital, his car is towed because a neighbor reported his illegal parking. And, of course, he loses his job because of "the bottom line": costing the company money by being late. And this is only the film's beginning.
Superior acting, well-chosen editing and a well-written script make this one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. Meaningful dialogue and a story that is really thought-provoking make me wish that this independent film was the norm for the movie industry.
Wonderful World is truly a stunning movie. Although it probably will not make much money, it will surely be appreciated by the film industry and audiences everywhere. The story has the ability to connect with everyone because we all have our misfortunes and cynical days - and sometimes we just need to step back and think about how we perceive the world. Is the glass half empty or half full?