If it is appropriate to be so bold, I must say that “The Great New Wonderful” is possibly the first movie I have seen in several months that left me feeling empty and whole all at the same time. It sounds cheesy but that was truly my experience. The 20 minutes searching through the new releases at Blockbuster for something worth watching was worth it.
“The Great New Wonderful” is what most contemporary indie films aspire to be, that being a film which washes over you and subtly manages to leave by your side whatever message or feeling it is trying to present to the audience. This movie skips past any sort of pretense and instead delivers a palatable and believable plot line.
In the vein of such movies like “Crash”, we follow the story of several New Yorkers a year after the terrorist attacks on Sept 11. This film is no where near as dramatic as “Crash”, but the story is still engaging. We all know these characters and can relate to the underlying anger and disappointment that has taken hold of many Americans post Sept 11. These feelings in fact drive and ultimately tie together all the characters in the film.
First we are introduced to Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character Emme, a stylish and modern cake designer to the socialites of Manhattan, and follow her on her quest to become the next big thing by trying to out do the current queen bee of cakes, Safarah (Edie Falco). Next we have Allison and David, (Judy Greer and Thomas McCarthy), the frustrated parents to what can only be described as the word terror personified.
The audience can only sympathize with their struggle to maintain their marriage and faltering love life due to the stress caused by their son Charlie. Later, we meet Olympia Dukakis’ character Judie, an aging housewife frustrated with her monotonous life on Coney Island. I enjoyed how even the colors were muted and dull with scenes from Judie’s story.
Even though her senses are awakened by a new friendship with an old classmate, the cinematography reflects her despondent demeanor despite the change in her regular and boring routine. One of the more observant story lines was that of security guard Avi, and his partner Satish. Avi’s take on American culture from an immigrant’s point of view was interesting and funny. However, Satish’s distaste for the graphic images that we as Americans have become desensitized to was a reminder of how distasteful our culture has become.
Last, we have the series of conversations between therapist Dr. Trabulous (Tony Shalhoub) and his patient Sandie (Jim Gaffigan) who recently witnessed an office tragedy.
To watch the two banter back and forth is like watching a cat provoke a mouse. Rounding out the cast is the secondary character Mr. Peersall, played by Stephen Colbert, who is in fact the principal at Charlie’s school.
The only reason I mention Colbert’s small role is because his character manages to provide not only the most awkward situation in the movie, but also the only line that made me literally laugh out loud. To throw such a funny line in the middle of a drama was a nice touch. I suppose director Danny Leiner’s “Harold and Kumar” days do not seem so far removed.
I’m begging you, please go rent this movie. The cinematography is great, the insightful nuances within the dialogue are intriguing, and almost everyone in this cast delivers a memorable performance, no matter how small their role is.

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