Mr. Wonderful

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steve d A boring unlikable romance. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member I went through a little Matt Dillon phase at age thirteen and therefore I watched this film multiple times. Seeing it again through new eyes, my passion for Dillon and his oeuvre, I realize it's not as good as I remembered and it was directed by the man behind The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Anthony Minghella. This is a middling romantic comedy at best and although it attempts to be a blend between Moonstruck (1987) and a million other films of the same genre. I still found myself falling for parts of it and the happily ever after did bring a certain joy to me that can only be found in stodgy Nora Ephron rip-offs and films adjacent to that relatively large genre of film. I would recommend this film to my close friends who I understand are on the same page as me about films that aren't technically â~good' but entertaining nonetheless. Gus DeMarco, Matt Dillon, is an Italian-American Con Edison employee who has been divorced from Leonora, Annabella Sciorra, for some time but he is still required to pay alimony to her. He wants to purchase a bowling alley and run it with his friends but the alimony payments prevent him from having enough money to pay his share but he believes that if he can get Leonora remarried he will not have to pay alimony to her and will earn enough to pay for the bowling alley. He goes to great lengths to hook her up with other men but discovers that he only wants her for himself. Complicating things further is his devoted girlfriend Rita, Mary-Louise Parker, who attempts to keep his interest through increasingly desperate means. Dillon is a strong romantic lead and he is charming, funny and swoon-worthy in equal measures in this. Unfortunately the screenplay he is working with presents an underdeveloped relationship with no real room for particularly funny or romantic scenes. Instead it is sandwiched awkwardly in between the two genres and never really finds it's place. Sciorra isn't a great actress but she is given almost nothing to work with here as she is asked to either be angry and prudish or giggly and completely charmed with very little explanation for her transition. If the screenplay had taken the extra steps to make the story more developed and the characters more full of life then this would be a far better experience as a film and the actors would be able to give legitimately good performances. The only performer excepted from the averageness of the screenplay is Parker who is so believable in her role as the girlfriend who gets left for another woman. When we see her crying on gnocchi that she will eventually give to Gus we believe it even though what she does is ridiculous she feels like a character with integrity and self-respect. At the end of the film I wanted to see her character be happy with a man who wasn't Gus and one of my biggest disappointments was not getting to see her fall in love because she was one of the most sympathetic characters in the film. Along with Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and Boys on the Side (1995) Parker gave some great comedic performances in the 1990s but also showed she has the dramatic chops to handle the melodramatic moments with care. The inclusion of Italian-American culture as a part of their love story was well used but when compared to other classic romantic comedies with similar conceits it doesn't differentiate itself. Again comparing it to the near perfect romantic comedy Moonstruck we don't spend nearly enough time with Gus's family to really care and none of the subplots were entertaining or moving. The relationship between Rita and the older Italian-American women was touching but it only appears in one scene and that was not enough to sustain me. You should watch this film if you are willing to accept poor writing and love either Matt Dillon or Mary-Louise Parker. I spent a rather pleasant Sunday afternoon watching it again and I was surprised by how much I still liked it having moved out of the Matt Dillon phase of my life. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member I have always loved Matt Dillon. This one is okay. fairly sweet, but pretty similar to other movies of this genre. Not particularly memorable. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Writer/director Minghella's second feature brings ambivalence and a touch of realpolitik to the stuff of candyfloss romance. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member I was ready to shut it down, after realizing that Luis Guzman was going to get more screen time than William Hurt. Talk about baffling. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Frances H Nice little romcom but nothing hilarious or really special. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/13 Full Review Read all reviews

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