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THE GREAT NEW WONDERFUL Send This Review to a Friend
One doesn’t have to focus directly on 9/11 to extract meaning from it for our lives. Using the first anniversary of the catastrophe only as a touchstone, writer Sam Catlin and director Danny Leiner have made a film stressing angst that may be partly attributed to tension in the wake of 9/11 and also the need for appreciation of how precious life is. Their “The Great New Wonderful,” set in New York, looks at various characters struggling to cope in the face of the daily difficulties that affect work and relationships. An excellent cast, whether handling parts large or small, makes the film especially interesting above and beyond the circumstances delineated.
For example, Sandie (Jim Gaffigan) is getting counseling in the building where he works. He is trying to maintain his usual demeanor, but the psychologist Dr. Trabulous (Tony Shalhoub) is determined to find the deep anger he is convinced Sandie is suppressing. The doc toys with Sandie in an effort to provoke him, and the questionable methods in themselves can be anger-inducing, the process emotionally destructive. Are the sessions revealing anger or causing it?
The film title refers to the name of a pastry company, whose proprietor is the tense and ambitious Emme, played by the always impressive Maggie Gyllenhaal. She’s in competition with Safarah (Edie Falco), who rules the society pastry scene in which much money is spent on fancy cakes prepared for elite events. There is a well-played bitchy confrontation between the rivals, but the humor aside, this is serious business.
Olympia Dukakis is particularly affecting as Judie, an aging wife in a stale marriage to a couch potato. Judie is rattled by the attention of affable Jerry (Dick Latessa). There is no possibility of a serious romance, but feelings are stirred, only to be dashed.
Judy Greer and Tom McCarthy play parents having to work on their marriage, a task complicated by their spoiled, tubby 10-year-old son with serious behavior issues. You’ll enjoy seeing Stephen Colbert (yes, TV’s Colbert) as the school authority who finally loses patience and tells that parents how much of a brat they are coddling.
Running through the film as sort of a chorus are immigrant security guards Avi (Naseeruddin Shah) and Satish (Sharat Saxena), who observe the New York scene and help reflect the city’s diversity as they go about their routine and are also seen in glimpses of their personal lives.
Although much is happening in this busy story mix, the filmmakers manage to keep the various threads interesting and meaningful in highlighting life’s pressures and the ways in which diverse individuals function. The cast also includes Will Arnett, Seth Gilliam, Anita Gillette and Julie Dretzin among many others.
“The Great New Wonderful” is a film that is both entertaining and makes you take its characters seriously. A First Independent Pictures release.
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