Movie #23........................."The Great New Wonderful"

You rated this movie: 3.0

• 
  
  

The Great New Wonderful(2006) R

New York City a year after the 9/11 tragedy is the setting for Danny Leiner's drama portraying five stories of vastly different lives in the same uncertain surroundings. A psychologist (Tony Shalhoub) and an ordinary yet angry man; two pastry purveyors (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Edie Falco); a married couple; two immigrant friends; and an older woman (Olympia Dukakis) set in her ways -- they all try to rebuild their lives as the city does as well.

Movie #23 "the great new wonderful " is a 9/11 reaction by people not DIRECTLY affected by the tragedy but who find it difficult to move on in life. It's in the "crash" format with 6 people (played by competent actors like Maggie gyllenhall/Tony shaloub/etc) are each introduced and then the film cross edits from one to the other, sometimes frantically to keep us involved. It's okay but I would have wanted more of a tie in to each of he people or to 9/11. Kind of fizzles out but I do appreciate the suggestion that we will be affected by 9/11 in ways we don't even know in the present and future.