If you're looking for a truly excellent date movie or just feel like going out and being entertained without much thinking involved, let me heartily recommend "Next Stop, Wonderland." In this movie, as in much romantic cinema, the viewer is well aware of exactly how the story ends long before the end is in sight. Indeed, we are shown in the second scene which of the characters are meant to be together. However, what "Wonderland" lacks in plot originality it more than makes up for with its fantastic dialogue and generally realistic characters.
The movie stars Hope Davis as Erin Castleton, a nurse whose father dies while she is attending Harvard Medical. His death causes Erin to lose her motivation, drop out of school and become something of a recluse. She has no real friends, socializes with her co-workers very little and in the first scene of the movie loses her neurotic, activist boyfriend because she isn't enough of an activist for him.
Opposite Davis is New Hampshire's own Alan Gelfant who plays Alan Monteiro, a 35-year-old plumber-turned-marine biology student. He spends most of his time either volunteering at the Boston Aquarium or studying.
The story follows these two characters as they deal with the problems of dating and face the troubles of their respective pasts. Hindered by relatives, misleading relationships, the Mafia and a puffer fish, Erin and Alan somehow make it through.
Both of the main characters are so decent and obviously pained that the audience can't help but root them on and sympathize with them. It is, in fact, the realism and likability of the characters that is the most impressive aspect of this movie.
Where many romantic comedies settle for primarily two-dimensional characters and rely on a twisting plot to keep the audience's interest, "Wonderland" manages to make its characters very realistic by giving them personal quirks, intricate motivations and all too human weaknesses. Unfortunately, the supporting cast is not as well developed as the main characters and with few exceptions do not display any positive qualities whatsoever.
The storyline centers on Erin and Alan, and, rather than guiding their movements, merely follows them as they naturally progress through their lives. Admittedly, there are some truly random and slightly bizarre plot points like the Mafia and the puffer fish, but they are forgivable since they take a backseat to the emotional development of the characters. By allowing the audience to watch Erin and Alan progress from hermits to once again functional people, the ending becomes the logical conclusion of the paths these two are following.
Coupled with the strong character depictions, the original and extremely witty dialogue, which remains consistent throughout the movie, manages to engage the audience in the problems of the characters without forcing them to think too hard. After all, these are not life and death situations being depicted; it is merely the quirkiness of dating that is under discussion.
The writers of "Wonderland" do employ one running theme in the film. The characters at a number of points throughout the movie discuss the role of fate, and it is pointedly shown that Alan and Erin are destined to be together. They countlessly stand right next to each other or are on opposite sides of a room without ever realizing each other. The film derives excitement from Erin who, despite such obvious signals, staunchly refuses the existence of fate, destiny or any guiding force in her life.
"Next Stop, Wonderland" is an interesting and enjoyable movie though definitely not an intellectual heavyweight. The dialogue and characters are fantastic, but the plot is somewhat inconsistent in quality. Of course, as the characters themselves repeatedly comment, "Consistency is the hobgoblin of the small mind."
