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IMDbPro

Wonderful World

  • 20092009
  • RR
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
54,176
1,826
Matthew Broderick in Wonderful World (2009)
A misanthropic divorcée finds love despite all his efforts against it.
Play trailer2:23
1 Video
37 Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
Ben Singer has his cynical worldview darkened by his roommate Ibu's sudden medical situation, though the arrival of Ibu's sister, Khadi, might remedy both men's ills.Ben Singer has his cynical worldview darkened by his roommate Ibu's sudden medical situation, though the arrival of Ibu's sister, Khadi, might remedy both men's ills.Ben Singer has his cynical worldview darkened by his roommate Ibu's sudden medical situation, though the arrival of Ibu's sister, Khadi, might remedy both men's ills.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
54,176
1,826
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Joshua Goldin
    • Writer
      • Joshua Goldin
    • Stars
      • Matthew Broderick
      • Sanaa Lathan
      • Michael Kenneth Williams
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Joshua Goldin
    • Writer
      • Joshua Goldin
    • Stars
      • Matthew Broderick
      • Sanaa Lathan
      • Michael Kenneth Williams
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 32User reviews
    • 46Critic reviews
    • 48Metascore

    Videos1

    Wonderful World
    Trailer 2:23
    Wonderful World

    Photos37

    Joshua Goldin in Wonderful World (2009)
    Michael Kenneth Williams in Wonderful World (2009)
    Sanaa Lathan in Wonderful World (2009)
    Sanaa Lathan in Wonderful World (2009)
    Matthew Broderick and Dan Zanes in Wonderful World (2009)
    Philip Baker Hall in Wonderful World (2009)
    Matthew Broderick and Michael Kenneth Williams in Wonderful World (2009)
    Matthew Broderick at an event for Wonderful World (2009)
    Matthew Broderick at an event for Wonderful World (2009)
    Matthew Broderick at an event for Wonderful World (2009)
    Matthew Broderick at an event for Wonderful World (2009)
    Matthew Broderick at an event for Wonderful World (2009)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Matthew Broderick
    Matthew Broderick
    • Ben Singer
    Sanaa Lathan
    Sanaa Lathan
    • Khadi
    Michael Kenneth Williams
    Michael Kenneth Williams
    • Ibu
    Philip Baker Hall
    Philip Baker Hall
    • The Man
    Jesse Tyler Ferguson
    Jesse Tyler Ferguson
    • Cyril
    Jodelle Ferland
    Jodelle Ferland
    • Sandra
    Ally Walker
    Ally Walker
    • Eliza
    Christy Reese
    • Cassie
    Zacharias Foppe
    • Leon
    • (as Zacharias E. Foppe)
    Cristen Barnes
    Cristen Barnes
    • Suzie
    Mia Ford
    Mia Ford
    • Maxine - Cyril's Daughter
    Paul T. Taylor
    Paul T. Taylor
    • Doug
    James Burton
    James Burton
    • McRory
    Dan Zanes
    Dan Zanes
    • Sweeny
    John Hambrick
    John Hambrick
    • Judge Bissel
    Drew Waters
    Drew Waters
    • City Lawyer #1
    Odessa Feaster
    Odessa Feaster
    • Laugh Zone MC
    • (as Odessa Sykes)
    Carrey Bowers
    • Stand-up Comic
    • Director
      • Joshua Goldin
    • Writer
      • Joshua Goldin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      At one point in the film, Matthew Broderick and Sanaa Lathan are talking about the impossibility of their relationship. Lathan's character says that they are like a hippo and a lion trying to mate. Broderick asks 'who's the hippo. Broderick voiced Simba in the "Lion King" franchise.
    • Goofs
      Ben and Ibou are seen playing a game of chess, unfortunately the chess board was incorrectly set up, so that the bottom-right square is black.

      Unfortunately as a consequence, the black queen and king plus the white queen and king are all on the wrong starting squares. No one ever plays the game of chess with the bottom-right square as black, because then all the kings and queens would then be incorrectly placed on the wrong color starting squares. How to set up the pieces on a chess board: First set up the board so that the bottom-right square is white . . . Place a rook on each of your two corners . . . Place the knights next to the rooks . . . Place the bishops to the inside of the knights . . . Place the queen on the remaining, matching-color square . . .
    • Quotes

      Ben Singer: [Courtroom presentation] I know I'm just a joke to you, and you only decided to hear my case because you're amused. Some crackpot acting as his own attorney accusing the city of depraved indifference. Do you know what the most crowded room is in the Getty Museum? It's the room with Van Gogh's Irises. Why? Because someone bought the painting for 54 million dollars. There's a reverential silence in the Iris room; Mr. and Mrs. Museum Goer might as well be looking at a framed pile of cash. Newspapers publish movie grosses, if a movie grosses over a hundred million dollars, we assume it must be good. There's no God, there's no beauty, if a painting or a CD doesn't sell, throw it out. The 910 Freeway has a very sharp turn as it winds into the valley from the hills. And every year four or five motorists are killed on this spot. And the city conducted a costs and effects study, and concluded that the costs in terms of human life was not equal to the cost of rebuilding the highway. And so this deadly spot on the highway remains and in five years 20 more people will die. Well if this isn't depraved indifference, I don't know what is. Ibu Endai came her from Senegal; he worked a guard in an outlet store in Carson. He's a great chess player, he's my friend. And, uh, he was thrown away. Well, what kind of a world do we live in that his life is worth less than this Nobody's ability to get quickly into a parking space. Or the city impound's need to for revenue so that each one of these amoebas can have a beach house in Miami. Is that really the kind of world we want to live in?

    • Connections
      Featured in The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Matthew Broderick/Robin Tunney/Ke$ha (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      The Sunsets
      Written by Dan Zanes

      Performed by Dan Zanes

    User reviews32

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    The Find of the Year
    A dramatic gem. "Wonderful World" gives Matthew Broderick his meatiest and most interesting role in years, and showcases the remarkably assured directorial debut of Josh Goldin (who also wrote the classically spare and powerful screenplay). Goldin finds true uplift where most filmmakers might have stumbled into cliché. His story of culture clash and class disharmony, about someone who considers himself "the most negative man in the world," was never anything less than moving and gave me that rarest of experiences in a movie theater: I didn't just love the film, I came out of it wanting to be a better person.

    The first half of this movie finds Broderick as an almost jarringly flawed character, an alienated children's singer, struggling with divorce, doing a mediocre job raising his teen daughter, and sinking into self- defeating pessimism. That he manages to overcome these obstacles, and truly regenerate himself, without our feeling as if the movie makers pandered to our craving for a happy ending, is truly remarkable. In part he finds hope in an offbeat relationship with his former-roommate's sister, played with earthy sexuality and witty grace by Sanaa Lathan. But this is really much more than a story of a depressed man being reborn through romance. Goldin has made a touching parable about taking action, about caring for others being the linchpin of happiness in this world.

    I can't say too much more about the story, for fear of spoiling its powerful ending, but I defy anyone not to be moved.

    Jodelle Ferland is a complete find as the daughter Broderick's character cannot seem to connect with. But it is Broderick himself who steals the show. He has long been one of our most underrated actors, a master of the ordinary devoid of on screen vanity. And not since "Election" have I seen him carry a film so worthy of his skills. His performance is the stuff folks give out awards for, and he should be nominated come Oscar season, along with his director, if this truly is... a wonderful world.
    helpful•12
    6
    • ariposner
    • Dec 24, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 27, 2009 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Germany
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Wolof
    • Also known as
      • Удивительный мир
    • Filming locations
      • Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
    • Production companies
      • Cold Iron Pictures
      • K5 International
      • Ambush Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $9,309
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,582
      • Jan 10, 2010
    • Gross worldwide
      • $9,309
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 29 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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