The Great New Wonderful

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The Great New Wonderful

R

2005

1h 27m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

41 Reviews

45%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

In the year following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, New Yorkers gradually get back to the normal routine of their lives. A successful pastry chef (Maggie Gyllenhaal) struggles to unseat her longtime rival as queen of cake. A couple (Tom McCarthy, Judy Greer) try to save their marriage and cope with their troubled son. A therapist (Tony Shalhoub) counsels a man who witnessed a violent incident. Two immigrants (Naseeruddin Shah, Sharat Saxena) observe life in the city.

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Critics Consensus

Set in post-9/11 New York, this largely evocative dramedy interweaves the stories of five disconnected individuals who share an unspoken emotional malaise that shadows their attempts at returning to normal life.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

09/12/2023

Tries way too hard to be clever and shrewd. Danny Leiner (Dude, Where’s My Car?, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle) directed a script by Sam Catlin, and though both have their moments, they’re rarely the same moments.

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Bob Longino

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

08/31/2006

B-

Not all the little stories and vignettes work (some seem almost pointless), but most of the performances, especially a haughty luncheon under a veil of politeness with Gyllenhaal and Falco, are spot on, involving and revealing.

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Chris Vognar

Dallas Morning News

08/25/2006

A-

It may be the 9/11 movie to which the most people can relate. For most of us, that date wasn't about personal heroics or losing loved ones or survival. It was about processing the impossible and realizing that life, with all its ups and downs, must go on.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

11/29/2009

2/4

...The Great New Wonderful boasts a pervasively aimless atmosphere that slowly but surely wears the viewer down and ensures that the film's overtly positive elements are ultimately rendered moot.

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Prairie Miller

WBAI Web Radio

04/29/2007

Candid but hermetic NYC emotional aftershocks Of 9/11.

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MaryAnn Johanson

Flick Filosopher

10/13/2006

No film that I've yet seen better captures the dismal mood that gripped the city in the wake of the [9/11] attacks...

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Geke g

08/11/2024

Soooo clever directing

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Munkhchimeg T

08/11/2024

Inclusive, terrific movie. So grounded into life like a real life. Good2

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Bahad j

08/11/2024

The young people behind the film have done a great job and it can be seen in this film. I liked it very much.

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02/12/2015

This movie was probably brilliant but it also made me want to die. I've been thinking about it for years since I've seen it, so that's something, but I don't feel like any of those thoughts were positive. This movie is probably a weapon of mass destruction.

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11/05/2013

Entertaining and moving ensemble movie in the same vein as Steel Magnolias and Shortcuts. While the characters and the subplots are amusing and hold your attention, the cohesion is lacking though.

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07/12/2013

This film captures the disconnected malaise that New Yorkers felt a year after 9/11. It is subtle and elicits a sense of being lost in the viewer, much like New Yorkers must have felt at that time. A remarkable, but somewhat disturbing series of vignettes that strike home.

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Danny Leiner

Director

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Emme

Tom McCarthy

Davie Burbage

Judy Greer

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Naseeruddin Shah

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Sharat Saxena

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Synopsis

In the year following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, New Yorkers gradually get back to the normal routine of their lives. A successful pastry chef (Maggie Gyllenhaal) struggles to unseat her longtime rival as queen of cake. A couple (Tom McCarthy, Judy Greer) try to save their marriage and cope with their troubled son. A therapist (Tony Shalhoub) counsels a man who witnessed a violent incident. Two immigrants (Naseeruddin Shah, Sharat Saxena) observe life in the city.

Director: Danny Leiner
Producer: Leslie Urdang, Danny Leiner, Matt Tauber
Screenwriter: Sam Caitlin
Production Co: Sly Dog Films, Serenade Films
Rating: R (Some Sexuality|Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 2005, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jun 23, 2006
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 24, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $150.1K
Runtime: 1h 27m

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