Cheap Next Stop Wonderland (DVD) (Hope Davis, Alan Gelfant) (Brad Anderson (II)) Price

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Customer Reviews of Next Stop Wonderland

Small, indie movie is delightful romance
Next Stop Wonderland is a charming romantic comedy from independent director, Brad Anderson. This is his most accessible work to date. While I can use the word 'slight' in describing it, I must quickly add that the same adjective describes most such movies. You Have Mail, My Best Friend's Wedding, The Wedding Singer and many other big budget affairs are all entertaining, diverting and funny. Earthshaking they are not.

An independent movie like this one doesn't have the budget for the gloss and glamor of its big sisters. I personally see this as a refreshing change of pace, because as much as I enjoy the Meg Ryans, Julia Roberts and Cameron Diazes of Tinseltown, I can't transfer their screen behavior to real life.

The sparkling yet down to earth Hope Davis plays Erin, who returns to her downtown Boston home one afternoon to find her activist boyfriend loading up his car. He's leaving her. She is devastated. Being a very intelligent young woman, she supposes that men aren't worth the trouble and that being alone has its rewards. Even as she arrives at these conclusions, her expressive face shows plenty of doubt.

Across town lives Alan [Alan Gelfant], an immensely likable guy in his mid-thirties, who has gone back to school to study marine biology. He's currently a plumber like his Dad, but has come to believe he can improve upon his working-class life. He is a volunteer at the Boston Aquarium. Water, in particular the sea, plays an important part in the movie. Fish do also. You might say that a blowfish named Puff is one of the movie's stars.

One day Erin's ditzy, wealthy mother places an ad in the personal section of a Boston newspaper. The problem with this is that it's about Erin. At first outraged, Erin soon finds herself unable to resist listening to the messages that have been lefted in her voice mail. She decides to respond to a few. One of these involves Alan's brother. The fun has begun.

Wonderland plays out very much like Sleepless in Seattle, because our two lonely hearts keep coming very close to meeting - but don't - for much of the film.

The director and the stars are very assured and professional. They keep the humor rather dry. This is not intended to be a broad comedy. In fact, it explores a philosophical question. Does fate really have a hand in the events in our lives, or do things happen in a random way?

Next Stop Wonderland is the type of movie that plays especially well in DVD format. It's not a larger than life vehicle, so a big theater screen doesn't add much to it.

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Wonderland Questions Modern Love
Hollywood has often portrayed love as an event which just "happens." No matter what one does, no matter what one expects, true love can strike at any time. We are -- Hollywood would like us to believe -- in the hands of Fate. But Erin Castleton (Hope Davis) doesn't believe in fate. After her boyfriend leaves, she resigns herself to a lonely life without expectations.

Next Stop, Wonderland is a delightful independent film which speaks to the romantic in us all. It follows Erin, a young registered nurse who has resigned herself to a life of quiet loneliness. While Erin is talking to her mother (Holland Taylor from The Truman Show) it becomes apparent that she has given up on several of her dreams -- most around the time that she lost her father. Her friends and family want her to find someone, but she believes "only you can make yourself happy."

In this world, however, Erin's is not the only story. We are also introduced to Alan Monteiro (Alan Gelfant, The Crow: The City of Angels), a former plumber and marine biology student. At 35, Alan has finally latched onto his dreams: he volunteers at the local aquarium and he is the star student in his biology class.

Ultimately, Erin's mom takes matters into her own hands and places a singles ad for her daughter. At first furious with her mother, Erin becomes desperate and decides to check the messages waiting for her. When she realizes that more than 60 men have responded, her curiosity leads her to answering the messages.

While their two worlds never quite collide, Erin and Alan orbit each other, often coming within inches of making contact. In one delightful scene, Erin's picture appears in the newspaper's society column. While she and Alan are drinking in separate parts of the same bar, he spills a drink on his newspaper, causing her picture to bleed through from the previous page and into view. Before he can notice it, however, Alan folds up the wet paper and throws it away.

While the movie premise could certainly be a vehicle for a star like Sandra Bullock or Meg Ryan, Next Stop, Wonderland showcases the talents of a relatively unknown actress. Davis brings to the screen a quiet vulnerability. She makes us care for her, but unlike a big-star movie, we have doubts about if she can find true happiness.

Next Stop, Wonderland is hopelessly romantic, but often sedate. The humor is subtle and dry. While there are moments that made me laugh out loud, they were few and far between. Even though it is an independent film with a small cast, it is refreshing and uplifting. It might not be to everyone's taste, but I think true romantics will fall to its charm.

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Smart, funny, poignant romance
Hope Davis is a terrific actress, and here she plays with depth of soul a delightfully and intelligently melancholy young nurse in Boston. What I love about this movie: Ms. Davis' obvious intelligence (intellectual and emotional); the local Boston accents; and the utterly fun bossa nova soundtrack.

The end of this movie is so satisfying and memorable that, when a year ago I spend a week or so in Boston, I insisted that my wife ride with me on the train system up to the Wonderland exit, that we deboard, walk up to the shoreline and basically relive the closing moments. This is not the sort of thing I generally do, but it just seemed right.

For a quiet evening at home with the one you love, you can't go wrong with "Next Stop Wonderland."