 STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED |
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| FILM DETAILS | Certificate
12 | | Cast
Matt Damon
Annabella Sciorra
Mary-Louise Parker
William Parker
Vincent D'Onofrio. | | Directors
Anthony Minghella. | | Screenwriters
Anthony Minghella
Amy Schor. | | Running Time
97 minutes |
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Mr. Wonderful (12) Plot
An electrician finds himself getting poorer by the day, due to his alimony payments to his ex-wife, who unknown to him is using them to fund her studies. Anxious to keep hold of his money, he tries to arrange for her to meet several potential suitors to let him off the hook. Review
After his pleasingly goofy turn in Singles, Matt Dillon took an even deeper plunge into romantic comedy and made an engaging leading man in Anthony Minghella's follow-up to Truly Madly Deeply.
A financially stretched electrical power company worker in Brooklyn who's so desperate to rid himself of alimony payments that he determines to find a new husband for his ex-wife, Dillon's Gus is abetted by his girlfriend (Parker) and encouraged by his co-workers (including Dan Hedaya) with whom he shares the dream of buying a bowling alley. But ex-wife Lee (Sciorra) is putting herself through university with her alimony, and is too embroiled with married professor Hurt to muster much enthusiasm for the dates Gus digs up.
It's a cute idea, amiably executed, with a strong ensemble (Hurt is particularly amusing as the nauseating two-timer who parades his cultivation bearing croissants, poetry and Shakespeare on video to the touchingly admiring Sciorra). But Minghella's ambitious intention of embracing real people with believable hopes, dreams and resentments puts the film in uneasy territory. As romantic comedy it's flimsy, light on good laughs and dependent on a female lead who even the reliable Sciorra has difficulty in making warm. And while it is plausible that everyone here cannot have what or whom they want, and not everyone deserves what they get, this sits unhappily alongside the only-in-the-movies romantic denouement to which all must defer.
Sweet and largely unsentimental, this has most appeal for people who like romance grounded in realism, but it will only lightly mollify those looking for a joke-riddled, "if only" affair like, say, Sleepless In Seattle. Verdict
An enjoyable romantic comedy, one that won't have the dragged along boyfriend running for the hills. It doesn't loose itself in fantasy land, remaining grounded and realistic. Damon, in his pre-blockbuster days, shows his leading man capabilities while Minghella keeps the romance as vital as ever.
Reviewer: Angie Errigo
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