If you want to serve jerk pork with schmaltz, rent this movie for dinner viewing. Between Emily Woof's commendable, but unbelievable, attempt at a Yiddish accent and Eve Stewart's nostalgic production design, I started groaning early. This potentially interesting story about prejudice becomes a parody of real life early on. The same old messages about how dysfunctional behavior on the part of new arrivals in an established culture is really charming and enriching. Political correctness gone idiotic. The boys are all cutesy. The girls are all darling. The immigrants are all determined to be jolly and, of course, are always wiser than the people around them. This movie feels like a propaganda film or a commercial from start to finish. The plot is boring. The condescension infuriating. The thematic simplicity annoying.
Review of Wondrous Oblivion
