'WONDERFUL World' comes in a long line of movies about the rejuvenating powers of black people. In fact, it's views of race are similar to France's The Intouchables, the winner of the Best Foreign Film at the Oscars this year, and many, many more flicks of this nature.Another beef I have with the movie is its date of release. It's reaching Malaysian shores after three years, and disguised as an 'international movie' to give it an aura of respectability.In 'Wonderful World', writer-director Joshua Goldin puts Ben Singer (Matthew Broderick) at the lowest possible moment in his life and then drags him out the pit with the help of Ibu (Michael K. Williams) and his sister Khadi (Sanaa Lathan). Ben is shown taking an elevator going down, metaphorically saying that his life is going downhill.Ben used to harbour hopes of making it big as a children's musician, but a record company let him down and he's now a proofreader in a law firm. His pessimistic view of life does not make him popular among his colleagues, who shun him and don't call him to after-office events.His ex-wife Eliza (Ally Walker) married a wealthy guy. When asked if she's happy with her good life now, she says that she didn't enjoy seeing life through his eyes, but she's now happy with what she sees. His daughter, Sandra (Jodelle Ferland), 11, is bored with him and even avoids him.His only decent contact with the world is his Senegalese roommate Ibu, who beats him at chess and offers deep thoughts of the world. Viewers get a whiff of what's to come.One thing leads to another and the diabetic Ibu is hospitalised when he falls into a coma. His sister comes from Senegal to take care of him. She also warms Ben's toes in bed at night.Ben suddenly finds a higher purpose in life. Khadi lights candles to encourage spirits to look over her sick brother, she cooks down-to-earth food and even teaches Ben's daughter to dance with without a care in the world.If Ben suddenly begins to believe in life, viewers will find it hard to believe that Khadi could fall for Ben. Perhaps there's something to be said about opposites attract, as the vivacious Khadi is poles apart from the miserable Ben.Broderick's hangdog face and expression are competent, but the movie saddles him with boring dialogue.www.jeffleemovies.com

Simple, Sweet and comforting.Don't keep any expectations from the movie before you start watching it, then I promise you will actually enjoy it. The movie moves at its own pace, you don't have to remember what happened in the last scene but still you won't fall asleep waiting for something to happen in the next scene.The movie revolves around its main character 'Ben Singer' played by Matthew Broderick, and tries to portray the importance of our 'own thinking' towards life. The cast has done a beautiful job, especially Matthew. But the thing I liked most about the movie was its simple approach, which perfectly fits in with the story and the pace of the movie. All credit to the movie crew on that, if I was rating only that then it would have been a perfect 10. Still 'Wonderful world' successfully puts forward the idea that it is really a wonderful world out there, if we try to see it that way.I won't say that you should definitely watch this movie, but if you do watch it then believe me you won't regret it. And for this beautiful effort I rate the movie a modest 8/10 (above average).

Wonderful World. What a paradox! Especially since the main character in this film is a jaded, disinterested, pessimistic man. This is the man who always thinks that the glass is always half empty. A man who can't think of a nice explanation to sum up his day.And to see how the guy changes his attitude in life is wonderful.He is a man who befriends a girl, and unfortunately the girl is his friend's girlfriend. This girl enters his life and changes things. For th better.The transformation is nice, but it seems too slow, thus may not to the liking of other viewers who'd wanted the film to move in a faster tempo.All in all, a nice underrated film worth watching. But a word of caution; this film moves at a slow tempo.

This is a smart, satisfying film, and a triumph for Broderick. We haven't seen such a great anti-establishment hero since The Big Lebowski.All the characters are brilliantly written by Goldin, and, likewise, brilliantly portrayed by the actors. Matthew Broderick's performance as Ben Singer has an assured and measured nuance -- a really fine role. Michael Williams (Ibu) shows his impressive range with a wonderful character, so distinct from his iconic Omar on The Wire. Sanaa Lathan's Khadi is a strong memorable sensual beauty. Twelve year old Jodelle Ferland as Sandra, Ben's daughter, is a revelation and certainly a comer.Wonderful World will make you laugh and it will make you cry. You want to go see this flick.