wonderland is a rather sugary romance film that is as subtle as a ton of bricks falling on you .
you can see its plot developing from a mile away .
you are lured into its benign story of a single 29-year - old girl looking for a soul mate in boston , as that city is depicted as a mini - wonderland for singles .
this is a star oriented film , and the star who carries the film is erin ( hope davis ) .
that this is a dating film , about singles who for reasons of fate or luck , or whatnot , have not had a successful match and are now putting most of their energy into fulfilling their careers , is nothing new , this type of film has been done often and better many times in contemporary films .
the fictionalized documentary unmade beds did it more provocatively and with more of a sense of urgency than this film .
the main quirk in the plot here , is that hope 's pushy mother ( hollan ) visits her in boston , sees her daughter 's live - in relationship with a radical protester ( hoffman ) breakup and decides to put a personal ad in the newspaper for her harvard medical school drop - out daughter , who works as a nurse .
this is done without her knowledge .
it is cornball sitcom stuff
, but , at least , it is handled as best it could be by the actors and director .
it is easy to like erin , she is bright , caring , and attractively blonde .
it is equally easy to care for the soul mate
she keeps missing contact with , the financially strapped , ruggedly handsome , intelligent 35-year - old alan ( alan ) , who no longer wants to work with his father as a plumber but is doing volunteer work at the aquarium and attending college to be a marine biologist .
of course , he comes across as being so good ( though , he does kill some fish in the aquarium ) , that it is hard to believe he 's for real , or just some cardboard shining knight put into the story to give it an ideal to shoot for .
the contrived story revolves around their near misses in meeting each other in such spots as , the subway , at a restaurant , or on the phone .
alan 's brother answers erin 's ad with a few of his pals , as they each try to respond to her ad in a phony way , making a bet that the first who gets to tongue kiss her , that the others witness , will win the bet .
this sub - plot was as obnoxious to see take place as it is to hear told .
that we have to see erin go through several dates to prove the point how ego sick these guys are , each one more annoying than the other , culminating in the most obnoxious one of all , that brazilian lover ( jose ) , who is about as charming as a snake - oil salesman , who is actually the one she nearly flies away with for a holiday in brazil , was not only incredulous but downright contrary to the rich presentation of her character that was the heart of the story .
anyway , as expected , all 's well that ends well , for this watchable piece of fluff
, that comes over on screen better than it does when relating its story - line .
the dialogue was actually not bad , those dating erin or trying to flirt with her seemed to be uttering authentic things they would actually say in their situation .
and , oh , by the way , wonderland refers to the stop on the boston metro
, it is where greyhound racing takes place .
this sub - plot was as obnoxious to see take place it is cornball sitcom stuff you can see its plot developing from a mile away benign story this watchable piece of fluff the contrived story not only incredulous but downright contrary