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?

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Romance is her destination.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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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.

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Goofs

The level of wine in Erin's glass, when she is dining with the Brazilian.

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Quotes

Bookseller: [after Erin Castleton has dropped the book] : Don't close it. You should never close a book until you've read something from it.
Erin Castleton: What?
Bookseller: Well, just a sentence or a word. It can be very, very revealing. Just read something, anything. Well, read from the top, then.

User Reviews

Blame It on the Bossa Nova...

"Next Stop Wonderland" is a lovely, very underrated indie romantic comedy, co-written and directed by Brad Anderson ("Happy Accidents", "The Machinist"). The always wonderful Hope Davis stars as Erin, a nurse from Boston who's dumped by her boyfriend, Sean (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Her liberal mother (Holland Taylor) places a personal ad for her in the paper (without Erin's consent). Initially appalled by the idea, Erin's life starts to change when she decides to meet the guys who answer the ad.

"Next Stop Wonderland" gets away from stupid Hollywood clichés, and is romantic without being corny. Anderson's and Lyn Vaus's witty script has some amazing dialogue, and Hope Davis brings the right emotional depth/low-key humor to her character. This movie is similar to the recent "Broken English" (starring another indie goddess, Parker Posey), only better. Honduran actor José Zuniga plays a Brazilian guy (hopeless romantic or prick?), speaking a very mannered Portuguese (more like some kind of "portuñol", a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish) that doesn't beguile the most naïve Portuguese speaker - which is very annoying for native Brazilians, specially considering that there are so many talented Brazilian actors out there that would've fitted the part. Of course I'm not saying foreign people can't play someone of a different nationality, but when the actor can't pull a decent accent, that's a problem. Anyway, that's a minor flaw, and "Next Stop Wonderland" is definitely an adorable flick. The soundtrack, full of classic Brazilian bossas (a rarity in American movies) is a plus, and the perfect complement to the movie's bittersweet atmosphere. 8.5/10 in my books.