BEFORE: If you remember, 2017 was a big year for the word "Wonder" - in movies there was "Wonder Woman", "Wonder Wheel", and "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women" all released that year.
You might ask, why didn't I link here directly from "Good Boys"? Well, good question. This year's Father's Day chain has been set for a while now, and after I got it the way I wanted it, then it became about landing the right film on the holiday itself. If I came here from "Good Boys", it would have been too soon, which would have necessitated some down time. Just look at how many other films I squeezed in between "Good Boys" and this one! (don't bother, it's 14, two weeks worth.). Now, if we had taken that vacation in May, and I'd had to go dark for five days, it might have been a fine idea. For that matter, one of the kids in this film was also in "The 15:17 to Paris", which I watched last week, but there would have been the same problem, I would have arrived here 6 or 7 days too early, which would have required me to take a week off.
Sometimes it feels like the universe is pushing me toward certain films, or all roads are leading to Rome or wherever, but I can drop other films into the mix or eliminate certain ones to determine when I get there. In a sense it's like going to a party, after you find out where it's being held and how to get there, then it's just a matter of arriving at the right time.
Owen Wilson carries over from "Father Figures", to another film that I hope is at least partially about a father-son relationship. It's got to be, right?
THE PLOT: The inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
AFTER: Look, I'm just going to go ahead and apologize right now to the director and producers of "Wonder", and let's throw in the author of the book it's based on as well, because you guys all meant well and I think you perhaps did a great job of drawing sympathy for this kid that was born with Treacher Collins syndrome, or something similar, having to navigate fifth grade and socializing with other kids his age for the first time. But my score today is probably going to be on the low to medium side, because, and this may be the luck of the draw, by the time I got around to your movie, there were much bigger concerns in the world than one kid who's self-conscious about his appearance.
I know, I know, if you show a small story we can usually extrapolate, and if this kid faces his fears and stands up to his bullies and overcomes the prejudices of others we can all draw hope from this or find some small comfort that with the support of family and friends, life can be better and maybe all things are possible. But this is set in New York City, a place that has lost over 21,000 citizens to date because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and I find that I can't really make the shift from being anxious and regretful over the deaths of the last few months to care about the insecurities of a small boy. I mean, he's alive, right? And he's got a loving, healthy family to support him and... wait a minute, he's not even real? This is a completely fictional character? Forget it, I can't even muster up some sympathy right now for a kid in a story that's not even "based on a true story".
I guess it's not completely fictional, because the author of the book noticed her son's reaction to a girl he saw in public with a similar facial difference, and after her son felt sorry for that girl, that became the inspiration for the story. The author extrapolated the rest from there, but whatever happened to good old-fashioned research? Couldn't the author have tracked down that real kid, or found another one with a similar facial deformity and highlighted that individual's struggles? I mean, come on, what are we doing here if we're getting the movie-going audience to care about Auggie Pullman if there's no real Auggie Pullman? Now I just feel like I've been manipulated if the whole thing's a piece of fiction.
Plus, this kid is white and lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn with two parents - and the family seems pretty well off if they're living in a Brooklyn brownstone and he gets to go to one of those magnet schools. Also, we've got a whole movement going on reminding us that Black Lives Matter and there are people of color who've been mistreated and killed by the police, and now protesters who are getting gased and beaten in response to their rising up against police brutality. (Do they not realize that if they beat the protesters, they're kind of proving their argument?). But no, "Wonder", please go ahead and explain to me how the self-image and confidence issues of a smart and charming little white boy should demand my attention right about now. Again, sorry, this is probably all just bad timing, but as a result, I may have to get back to you later when I have a little extra sympathy to muster up. Right now, I'm fresh out.
(I did something today that I rarely ever do, I gave some money to a panhandler on the subway. I know panhandling is illegal, and campaigns are out there reminding everyone to ignore them and not give them money, but instead direct them to social services. But this was a guy I've seen many times, and I think he's seen me almost as many, so I hope I did the right thing, I gave him all the change in my pocket, which was 75 cents. Right after he left the subway car, another guy came on and asked if anybody had some food to spare. I didn't, but the guy next to me did, and gave him a full pre-packaged meal, like one bought from a supermarket hot food bar. The beggar then stood there, holding the meal he'd just received, and kept asking for food, saying he hadn't eaten in three days. Dude, you're holding a container of food, so it's clear you're going to eat today - it's probably best if you move on, because right now nobody on the subway car is taking you seriously.)
I think the filmmakers realized that the concerns of one small boy aren't really going to add up to a lot of drama, like once this kid goes to school and makes a couple of friends, that crisis is over, to some degree at least. So there are other sections of the film, one for Auggie's sister Via, one for his friend Jack, and one for Via's friend, Miranda. These other sections show some of the same events from the main timeline but from different perspectives, so we can gain a little more insight on how Auggie's condition and special needs affects some of the other people around him. For example, his sister Via has learned to be more independent because her parents have had to focus more on Auggie's home-schooling, plus his self-image and personal development. She's used to being in the background, but finally sees a way to grow a little bit when she joins the drama club, and gains her first boyfriend in the process. However, she tells that boyfriend that she's an only child, which may not mean that she's embarrassed about her brother, but possibly she just wants someone to get to know her for herself, without people thinking of her as that girl with the "different" brother.
Meanwhile, Miranda has come back from camp and finds it difficult to hang out with Via again, because Miranda's been telling everyone that SHE has a brother with special needs, because she enjoyed the attention she got from it, and also it (somehow) helped her not deal with her parents' divorce. Umm, that's kind of apples and oranges, isn't it? I don't really see how one untrue thing helped her deal with the true thing, but OK, whatever. To make things right, Miranda plays sick on the opening night of the school play, "Our Town", so that Via, her understudy, can perform on stage in front of her parents. I'm not sure, however, if that's enough good karma to make up for hijacking Via's brother to enhance her own personal story.
Like most Hollywood films on the topic of bullying, this film has no clear ideas on how to strike back against bullies. As I've said before, fighting a bully is a terrible idea - they're already picking on people weaker than themselves, so they'll almost certainly win in a physical fight. Snitching on a bully will only make them strike back harder, unless the bullied party can build up enough evidence to get that bully permanently thrown out of school. But even that's not the best answer, because then that bully's life could be ruined, he could end up in a worse place, or find a weapon and shoot up the school in retaliation. I dealt with several high-school bullies, but only resorted to violence once (I got my ass kicked, but somehow also won the bully's respect - still, I don't recommend this.). The best methods for dealing with a bully, I think, are either ignoring them completely (difficult, but do-able) or buying them off. I purchased one bully's comic book collection for $40 and he didn't bother me again - why would he harass his best customer? Perhaps getting him the social services or mental help he required would have been better, but I did what I could do.
On one level, I think by watching this film I'm right where I need to be, at the intersection of school graduations (even if that's just graduating from the fifth grade) and Father's Day - it's the perfect June film, I guess, even if some parts of it take place at Halloween and Christmas - but since watching "Selma", "Just Mercy" and even "On the Basis of Sex", I'm afraid I've moved the goalposts on what constitutes social relevance. Sorry.
Also starring Julia Roberts (last seen in "Eat Pray Love"), Jacob Tremblay (last seen in "Good Boys"), Isabela Vidovic, Mandy Patinkin (last seen in "Wish I Was Here"), Daveed Diggs (last heard in "Ferdinand"), Sonia Braga (last seen in "Kiss of the Spider Woman"), Danielle Rose Russell (last seen in "A Walk Among the Tombstones"), Nadji Jeter (last seen in "The 5th Wave"), Noah Jupe (last seen in "Ford v Ferrari"), Bryce Gheisar (last seen in "The 15:17 to Paris"), Millie Davis (also last seen in "Good Boys"), Elle McKinnon, Ty Consiglio, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf (last seen in "Parental Guidance"), James A. Hughes, Ali Liebert, Nicole Oliver (last heard in "Sausage Party"), Rachel Hayward, Emma Tremblay (last seen in "The Judge"), Crystal Lowe (last seen in "Snakes on a Plane"), Steve Bacic, Benjamin Ratner, J. Douglas Stewart.
RATING: 5 out of 10 projects at the science fair
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