Wonderland

R

Released Oct 17, 2003

1 hr. 44 min.

Crime

Drama

Biography

List

34%

100 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In this fact-based film, John Holmes (Val Kilmer) is one of the most successful porn stars of all time. But, when his rampant drug abuse forces him into prostitution, both his disapproving wife, Sharon (Lisa Kudrow), and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Dawn (Kate Bosworth), are on the verge of leaving him. As John sinks lower and lower into Hollywood, Calif.'s criminal underworld, he meets a seedy drug lord (Eric Bogosian) and finds himself caught up in a tragic chain of events.

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Critics Consensus

A sordid and pointless movie with some good preformances.

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Paul T

Forget the negative reviews , When you review a film it's not about your opinion that doesn't matter what matters is it a good film regardless of what you believe? and are the people who review it the right people to Judge the life story of John Holmes the porn star who got aids and spread it about recklessly and acted like an immoral coward ? No I am the man to do that ! As I lived a hell of a life , So what we have here is a true story immediately we must respect that nobody had to write this it's reality so we can't judge the plot because it's not a plot it's a true story yes John Holmes was involved in a robbery and a famous murder massacre and his part in it was always questionable, This film perfectly covers the reckless life of John Holmes and Val Kilmer puts in a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination yet films like this are often compelling yet completely overlooked and it's a shame , This film is excellent it tells the whole story of that night from different points of view and based on the endless lies of John Holmes himself leaving you frustrated at what actually happened which is how the cops felt thanks to Homes and his endless lies , Fact is I've met people like John Holmes they are immoral reckless individuals who care about nothing outside of themselves and often become selfish drug taking tornadoes of disaster, This film is as spot on as is its sound track which is full of the classic tracks of the time and the standard of acting is well rounded and the characters very true to their real life counterparts which is more than you can say for most true stories that embellish the facts , This tells the absolute truth as told by the people involved if you are left frustrated at the fact justice wasn't done don't blame the film it's just telling the truth about what happened fact is people got away with murder but there's no doubt this film keeps you watching regardless, why because it's a interesting story in fact John Holmes was an interesting character and this one chapter in his life is well told you can learn everything about that story from this one film that serves almost like a documentary at times with its ugly real depiction of Holmes who was treated like a joke and freak show by the drug dealers who he eventually betrayed, This is a cool film it's the kind of story Tarantino would writer if it wasn't already a true story I enjoyed it more than 89% of so called true stories that are full of lies like the new Napoleon film and I recommend you watch this if nothing more it's a great study of humanity and all it's drug taking reckless ugliness.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/24

Full Review

Christopher B

Wonderland has some great performances from it's cast, especially Val Kilmer as John Holmes the famous and troubled porn star. That's about the only good thing I can find in the film though as nearly everything else is convoluted and sloppy. The script is based on a real life murder case involving the star, but there is little artistic value or connection on the part of the viewer with any of the characters. There is literally no one in the film you care for or want to root for and then circumstances don't allow for any real happy ending for any of them either. The story is overly-violent, overly-stylized and overly sleazy in it's world of drugs, debauchery, and violence in which it's characters live and die in.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/02/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Not a bad crime drama about the gruesome murders that involved the porn actor John Holmes.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A little known thriller seen by hardly anyone on its release, Wonderland nevertheless is certainly worth a watch if you can track it down. Co-written and directed by James Cox, it tracks the true story of the Wonderland murders back in 1981. Val Kilmer reminds you of how good he could be as John Holmes, one of the most successful porn stars of all time whose rise to fame is certainly not addressed here. Rather, his decrepit and rapid decline, resulting in an evening in 1981 when four people were murdered on Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles. Cox tells the story from several different points of view; Holmes, estranged from his wife (an excellent turn from Lisa Kudrow) and currently chasing his next fix with his teenage girlfriend (a terrific Kate Bosworth), drug dealer David Lind,whose motives are questionable at best; and drug king pin Eddie Nash. You may or may not know the story, and by the end you'll still have to make your own mind up with the stories and characters on offer here, but Cox has pulled off an effective, scuzzy B-movie with some top drawer performances, especially from Kilmer. There's plenty of films out there that deal with true stories like this in a more effective fashion, but Cox's decision to show you this story from the bottom of the barrel- you can almost inhale the drugs as you watch the screen- is a good one. This is a world you want nothing to do with, but thanks to Cox and his actors, it's one you can simply breathe in, breathe out, and then not have to worry about ever again.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Wouldn't have even known it was about ‘John Holmes' for much of it if you weren't told, pretty bad in most regards but it improves a bit as it goes and the story develops.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

rick m

Great movie, far more accurate story than the fluff behind Boogie Nights.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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James Cox

Director

Val Kilmer

John Holmes

Kate Bosworth

Dawn Schiller

Lisa Kudrow

Sharon Holmes

Josh Lucas

Ron Launius

Tim Blake Nelson

Billy Deverell

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Antonia Quirke

London Evening Standard

From a distance, Val Kilmer still passes as beautiful... But close up, his is the face of corruption: an intense mass of beforehis-time lines. There is certainly a great role out there for him, but reallife former porn star John C Holmes isn't it.

Dec 15, 2017

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Very sordid and unexpectedly dull; adults only.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 29, 2010

Full Review

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Unwarrantedly interested in B-list celebrity-gone-to-seed.

Rated: D+

Jul 29, 2005

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Sad, intense, and beautifully acted.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 27, 2020

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Val Kilmer ("The Salton Sea") fails to manifest the eccentric character of notorious porn legend Johnny "Wadd" Holmes in this artful but unbalanced dramatization of the gruesome 1981 Laurel Canyon murders that Holmes was implicated in committing.

Rated: B-

Jun 14, 2009

Full Review

Jason Gorber

Film Scouts

A&E Investigative Reports would have done the story far more justice than this watered down silly film ever could.

Rated: C

Jun 21, 2007

Full Review

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Synopsis

In this fact-based film, John Holmes (Val Kilmer) is one of the most successful porn stars of all time. But, when his rampant drug abuse forces him into prostitution, both his disapproving wife, Sharon (Lisa Kudrow), and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Dawn (Kate Bosworth), are on the verge of leaving him. As John sinks lower and lower into Hollywood, Calif.'s criminal underworld, he meets a seedy drug lord (Eric Bogosian) and finds himself caught up in a tragic chain of events.

Director: James Cox
Executive Producer: Tom Ortenberg, Marc Butan, Peter Block, Michael Burns, Julie Yorn, Randall Emmett, George Furla
Screenwriter: Captain Mauzner, James Cox, Todd Samovitz, D. Loriston Scott
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Killer Films, Emmett/Furla Films
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1M
Sound Mix: Surround

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