Next Stop Wonderland (1998)

An unlucky in love nurse finds her life taking a detour when her mother places a personals ad in the paper, while on the other side of Boston, a plumber is trying to change careers.

Director:

Brad Anderson

Writers:

Brad Anderson, Lyn Vaus

Stars:

Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Callie Thorne

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hope Davis	...	Erin Castleton
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Sean
Callie Thorne	...	Cricket
Ken Cheeseman	...	Rick
Pamela Hart	...	Berit
Diane Beckett	...	Seana
Jeremy Geidt	...	Bookseller
Alan Gelfant	...	Alan Monteiro
Dave Gilloran	...	Aquarium Volunteer
Luz Alexandra Ramos	...	Thalia (as Luz Alexandra)
Emma Shaw	...	Bailey
Kemp Harris	...	Ben
Neil Gustafson	...	Yuri Spinov
Holland Taylor	...	Piper Castleton
E. Katherine Kerr	...	Candice (as Katherine Kerr)

Storyline

Erin is a nurse and her longtime boyfriend has dumped her. Her mother Piper places a personal ad for her. Meanwhile the film follows the life of Alan, a volunteer at a local aquarium who dreams of becoming a marine biologist. Will their paths cross?

---

Plot Keywords:

personal ad | nurse | plumber | marine biologist | love | 

---

Taglines:

Love is the Destination.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Bac Films [fr] (French)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Last Train to Wonderland

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$123,055 (USA) (21 August 1998)

Gross:

$3,386,698 (USA) (13 November 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robbins Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the last scenes in the film, with Andre on the airplane, was filmed several months after the initial completion of the film. The scene was added because test audiences reacted badly to Erin standing-up Andre at the end of the film. The intention of the scene was to show that Andre was not a nice guy (as he had been throughout the film) and remove any sympathy viewers had for him. The fact that this scene was filmed so much later also explains why Andre's hair is significantly different in that scene than in the rest of the film.

---

Goofs

In the scene where Julie meets Alan in the restaurant, when she sits down, she immediately uses a napkin to dispose of her gum. A few moments later, we see her getting rid of her gum a second time.

---

Quotes

Cricket: Don't you just hate men?
Erin Castleton: Oh God, I wish I did. That would make my life so much easier.

User Reviews

Great Views of Boston, my Home Town!!!

Take a tour through some gorgeous Boston sights, even some kinda grubby under the (soon-to-be-erased by the Big Dig) elevated streets. I loved the Puffer-fish in our wonderful New England aquarium. And is this Gelfant guy sexy-----whoah!!! The sight of him and the flirty student he's mentoring eating each other up on the whale-watching boat was OUTSTANDING!! With all his obvious knowledge of the girl's crush and her wiley ways, he STILL gives into the animal chemistry in a surprising rush. I am SO tired of obviously phony kisses onscreen that this one caught me off-guard.

If you've ever done a dating ad thing, you'll empathize with the heroine's disgust at the pitiful and revolting lines of the many 'candidates' she meets. When one lowers his pseudo-intellectual facade long enough for you to see the human being behind, you want to scream, "Why didn't you show THIS part of yourself to her before you lost the chance?" Of course, the 3-way bet by the scum bums ends well as they get their just desserts. The well-meaning but meddling mother behind it all who placed the ad is well-written and well-played.

It's enough to watch the superb photography to buy this movie, but the many boy-girl angles portrayed also make it worthwhile. It could have been entitled, "What Not to Do on a First Date". I own it and am looking forward to giving it to my unmarried son as a tutorial. I also lend it out to people I want to lure to Boston.