Wonderland (2003 film)
Wonderland | |
---|---|
Directed by | James Cox |
Written by | James Cox Captain Mauzner Todd Samovitz D. Loriston Scott |
Produced by | Michael Paseornek Holly Wiersma |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Michael Grady |
Edited by | Jeff McEvoy |
Music by | Lions Gate Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 104 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5.5 million[2] |
Box office | $2.4 million[3] |
Wonderland is a 2003 American
Plot
John Holmes and Dawn Schiller
The girlfriend of
David Lind's story
The next major character introduced is
The robbery of Eddie Nash
The next morning, Ron Launius, Lind, and Deverell carry out the robbery, while wheel-man Tracy McCourt waits outside in a car, serving as lookout. Neither Holmes nor any of the women are present when the robbery occurs. The
Nash discovers Holmes was involved in the robbery, he has Holmes beaten and finds Holmes' little black book. He tells Holmes he will kill every person listed in the book, starting with Holmes' mother, if Holmes does not give up the men who robbed him.
July 1, 1981
The retaliation for the robbery is swift and fatal. On July 1, 1981, a group of Nash's henchmen (including Holmes), led by Diles, gains access to the apartment at Wonderland Avenue. Ron Launius, Deverell, Richardson, and Miller are all brutally beaten to death with striated lead pipes. Diles compels Holmes to deliver blows to Launius. Susan Launius is beaten but survives, and is questioned by Nico and Cruz in her hospital bed. She tells them (in a near comatose state) that she does not remember anything, only shadows. Lind is not present during the attacks.
Cast
- Val Kilmer as John Holmes
- Kate Bosworth as Dawn Schiller
- Dylan McDermott as David Lind
- Carrie Fisher as Sally Hansen
- Josh Lucas as Ron Launius
- Christina Applegate as Susan Launius
- Ted Levine as Detective Sam Nico
- Tim Blake Nelson as Billy Deverell
- Janeane Garofalo as Joy Miller
- Natasha Gregson Wagner as Barbara Richardson
- Faizon Love as Greg Diles
- Joleigh Pulsonetti as Alexa
- Lisa Kudrow as Sharon Holmes
- M. C. Gainey as Detective Billy Ward
- Joel Michaely as Bruce
- Franky G as Detective Louis Cruz
- Eric Bogosian as Eddie Nash
- Paris Hilton as Barbie
- Scoot McNairy as Jack
- John Holmes (archival footage) as Johnny Wadd
- Michael Pitt (deleted scenes) as 'Gopher'
- Alexis Dziena (deleted scenes) as Gopher's girlfriend
Production
To tell the story of John Holmes and the Wonderland murders as accurately as possible, director James Cox and producer Holly Weirsma tracked down the real Dawn Schiller and Sharon Holmes.[4] Holmes and Schiller, who had become close friends after John Holmes's death in 1988, acted as consultants for the film.[4]
Release
The film had its world premiere on September 8, 2003 at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival.[5] The film was given a limited theatrical release by Lions Gate on October 3, 2003.[3]
Home media
The film was released to DVD by Lions Gate on February 10, 2004.[6] The DVD's bonus features included an audio commentary track by James Cox and co-writer Captain Mauzner, deleted scenes, and a Court TV segment about the Wonderland murders.[6] The release also includes the documentary Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes, which interviews Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan, Boogie Nights writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson, and Sharon Holmes.[6]
On October 5, 2010, Screen Gems released the film to Blu-ray. Previous extras from the 2004 DVD were carried over, with the exception of the Wadd documentary.[7]
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 34% based on 101 reviews. The site's consensus states: "A sordid and pointless movie with some good performances."[8] On Metacritic it has a score of 43% based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]
Multiple critics praised the acting of Kilmer, Kudrow, and Bogosian.[10][11][12] Roger Ebert wrote "Kilmer is convincing as John Holmes, especially when he pinballs from one emotion to another; we see him charming, ugly, self-pitying, paranoid, and above all in need of a fix".[11] He added "Kudrow's performance is the most intriguing in the movie, and when she goes face to face with Holmes and coldly rejects his appeals for help, we guess maybe he needs her because she's the only adult in his life."[11]
Ed Gonzales of Slant Magazine wrote Kilmer "almost succeeds in redeeming the gaudy expressionism of Wonderland with his interpretation of Holmes's unnervingly palpable desperation. As the broken king of adult cinema, Kilmer babbles and charms and frightens, looking pathetically consumed and eaten away yet viciously driven by his appetites."[6]
Some critics called the Rashomon narrative device confusing,[11][6][10][13] but others defended it, with Nick Dawson of Empire saying "it contributes to the film's freewheeling feel, generated by its pulsing energy and strong soundtrack".[14][12] Others said the film's characters were underdeveloped, and that the film lacked a significant point of view.[5][10][15][13]
Gonzales of Slant Magazine wrote, "There’s little doubt that Cox wants to leave viewers affected by the emotional depth in Holmes's story, but when his film wears its vulgarity on its sleeve, the whole work ends up feeling far more exploitative than exploratory."[6] Ebert gave the film a mediocre review overall, granting it two out of four stars, and saying: "True crime procedurals can have a certain fascination, but not when they're jumbled glimpses of what might or might not have happened involving a lot of empty people whose main claim to fame is that they're dead."[11]
Critics also compared the film to Boogie Nights, with Jeff Vice of the Deseret News commenting, "Though it's based on a true story, 'Wonderland' feels considerably less real than 'Boogie Nights,' the completely fictional film that was influenced by some of the same material."[13][5] James Keast of Exclaim! said Wonderland "comes across as the last 40 minutes of Nights turned into a feature."[16] Critic Mark Deming wrote, "While Cox had a sad and compelling true story at his disposal, the results are flat and uninvolving, telling us almost nothing about Holmes or his fall into addiction and desperation, while Boogie Nights made Dirk Diggler's life both tragic and telling".[15]
References
- ^ "Wonderland (18)". British Board of Film Classification. March 1, 2004. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^ "Wonderland". The Numbers. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ a b "Wonderland (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^ a b Kennedy, Dana (September 7, 2003). "THE NEW SEASON/FILM; John Holmes's Boogie Life". The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c McCarthy, Todd (September 10, 2003). "Wonderland". Variety. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Gonzales, Ed; Vasquez, John (January 29, 2004). "DVD Review: James Cox's Wonderland on Lionsgate Home Entertainment". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ Bailey, Jason (October 25, 2010). "Wonderland". DVD Talk. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ "Wonderland (2003)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
- ^ "Wonderland". Metacritic. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ Scott, A.O. (October 3, 2003). "FILM REVIEW; A Film Stud Who Loses His Luster Is Sent to Graze on Seedy Pastures". The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Ebert, Roger (October 17, 2003). "Wonderland: Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
- ^ a b Gleiberman, Owen (October 1, 2003). "Wonderland". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c Vice, Jeff (October 24, 2003). "Film review: Wonderland". Deseret News. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ Dawson, Nick. "Wonderland Review". Empire. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ a b Deming, Mark. "Wonderland". AllMovie. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ Keast, James (February 1, 2004). "Wonderland". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
External links
- Wonderland at IMDb
- Wonderland at Box Office Mojo