Wonderful world

What does it take to change one's view of life completely? In "Wonderful World," feature-debuting director Joshua Goldin takes on the case of Ben Singer - a weekend dad and failed children's folk singer - is a seemingly hopeless cynic whose sole highlight in life seems to be his daily game of chess against his philosophical roommate, Ibu. When Ibu suddenly falls into a diabetic coma, Singer's pessimistic viewpoint seems to be confirmed. It only gets worse when the delayed ambulance causes him to miss work and lose his job. To top it off, Ben is forced to make room for Ibu's Senegalese sister who suddenly arrives from Dakar and decides to move in with him. But could it be that she can turn his life around?

Matthew Broderick and Sanaa Lathan are excellent as the leading couple - saccharine yet not sticky - with an equally strong supporting cast to rely on. Combined with Goldin's clever script, which carefully avoids the most obvious plot turns and clichés, "Wonderful World" is a heartwarming picture that brings to mind the classic comedies of Hollywood masters such as Capra and Wilder.
REBECKA AHLBERG

Cast
Matthew Broderick, Sanaa Lathan, Michael K. Williams, Jodelle Ferland: Producer
Miranda BAILEY (Ambush Entertainment), Matthew LEUTWYLER (Ambush Entertainment), Glenn WILLIAMSON (B: Script
Joshua Goldin: Cinematography
Daniel Shulman: Music
Craig Richey: Spoken language
english