The Film
He's about 25 years away from Ferris Bueller, but Matthew Broderick's latest character, Ben Singer, truly needs a day off.
In Wonderful World, Broderick stars as a failed children's folksinger turned proofreader. Despite his hidden talents, he oozes unhappiness. Aside from the dead-end job, he has an ex-wife who's shacked up with a jerk, a daughter that he can't seem to connect with, and a bit of a parking problem. He blames everything on "The Man" (Philip Baker Hall), who shows up to have conversations with him -- but usually during one of his weed sessions.
The cherry to soon top Ben's cynicism comes when his roommate Ibou (Michael K. Williams) develops serious medical issues. Soon after, Ibou's sister Khadi (Sanaa Lathan) comes from Dakar to nurse him.
There is nothing overly exciting to look at in Wonderful World. The 1.78:1 transfer does show off a bit of grain, but very few details. The color is realistic, although slightly muted. Nothing ever really pops all that well, but it's acceptable for a high-def transfer. The most impressive elements are the fleshtones, as are the details when closing in on facial features of Broderick and Williams.
The Sound
Like Ben's music, the DTS-HD Master Audio track is pretty mellow here. Street and crowd sounds allow the surrounds to get a bit of play. Most of the film is about the dialogue, which is displayed really well. It's a shame that the film didn't feature a bit more of Ben's music. When it does pop up, it sounds great. Each guitar chord hums nicely, belting out a really rich sound.
The Extras
Don't expect the extras for Wonderful World to be all that wonderful. In fact, they are downright disappointing. Considering how Broderick and writer/director Josh Goldin have a bit of a background, a commentary would have been nice. It also would have been interesting to hear a bit more about the duo's connection. Instead, there are three unbelievably short featurettes. At a mere 4 minutes, "As Soon as Fish Fall Out of the Sky" is the lengthiest piece, where each actor is asked to whip through a bit of character background. The other two features run about 90 seconds each. One is a musical montage that adds absolutely nothing to the experience, where the other spends most of its time gushing about what a great actor/guy Broderick appears to be.
Final Thoughts
It's much easier to focus on the crappy hand life sometimes deals out. Wonderful World doesn't try to sugarcoat it, but does manage to churn a bit of lemonade from the lemons. The cast is what truly holds the whole thing together. Overall, it's not the best Blu-ray in the bin, but Wonderful World is well worth at least a rental.
Product Details
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