Wonderful World
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: January 8, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
11
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
The movie is unfailingly likable and finally impressive. Goldin doesn’t settle for easy answers, and he makes you think that no one should. Read full review
63
Washington PostDan Kois
Broderick, for his part, is playing a role solidly in his late-career wheelhouse: a middle-age disappointment, Ferris Bueller gone to seed. So affecting is Broderick in these parts -- at this point, only Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a better schlub. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Tales of cynical curmudgeons rediscovering their humanity have long been a cinematic staple, but Wonderful World brings a refreshing lack of sentimentality to its take. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The major miscalculation in Wonderful World is the presence of a dream figure, known as the Man (Philip Baker Hall)...he throws this delicate, intelligent film, which at its best suggests a muted hybrid of “The Visitor” and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” off balance. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
As a misanthropic guy in a dead-end job, Matthew Broderick is more engaging than when he has to be perky. Read full review
50
VarietyRussell Edwards
Joshua Goldin's directing debut has soulful qualities that have been compressed into a paint-by-numbers production. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Broderick’s tendency to hang all his problems on corporate greed and heartless bureaucracy leads to some strange missteps. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesMark Olsen
Josh Goldin, a longtime screenwriter whose credits include "Darkman" and "Out on a Limb" -- and whose wife is a writer at the L.A. Times -- makes his debut as a writer-director with Wonderful World. The results of Goldin's dual efforts are promising but uneven. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleAmy Biancolli
The screenplay packs no particular surprises - some of the plot mechanics positively creak - but the leads bring some wattage and warmth to very modest indie fare. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
This is a half-baked movie about a half-baked person, but it has a fine, melancholic afterglow. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
It's all very sincere, but watching a dweebish depressive learn that Life Is Good is a lesson of diminishing returns. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Wonderful World feels like a modern-day half-baked riff on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Read full review
40
Time OutKeith Uhlich
Credit Broderick and the cast for putting across the fey Indiewood bullcrap with committed, nearly convincing effort. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
Matthew Broderick graduates from "boyish" and lurches straight into "curmudgeonly" in the would-be indie heartwarmer Wonderful World. Read full review
30
Village VoiceMelissa Anderson
It's heartbreaking to see Lathan, an underemployed actress whose talents were last put to good use in 2006's "Something Else," in such a ridiculous, impossible role. Read full review
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