The Great New Wonderful (2005)

73% of critics liked it
(40 reviews)
28% of users liked it
(18,457 ratings)

A collection of everyday New Yorkers struggle to carry on with their increasingly stressful lives a year after the city was forever changed by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Brooklyn-native Danny Leiner's ensemble-cast slice of life. Dr. Trabulous (Tony Shalhoub) is a gifted psychologist with a… More A collection of everyday New Yorkers struggle to carry on with their increasingly stressful lives a year after the city was forever changed by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Brooklyn-native Danny Leiner's ensemble-cast slice of life. Dr. Trabulous (Tony Shalhoub) is a gifted psychologist with a special knack for truly understanding his patients. When an ordinary businessman (Jim Gaffigan) who has witnessed a terrible office tragedy seeks to gain the insight of the seasoned professional, Dr. Trabulous helps to release a hidden rage that has slowly been eating away at the man's troubled soul. Meanwhile, in the culinary world, Great New Wonderful pastry shop proprietor Emme Keeler (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is about to discover that unseating the woman known as the Queen of Cake (Edie Falco) doesn't come without some heavy consequences. Elsewhere in the city, troubled couple Allison (Judy Greer) and David Burbage (Tom McCarthy) fight to save their marriage and break through to their curiously overconfident ten-year-old boy. Avi (Naseeruddin Shah) and Satish (Sharat Saxena) are immigrants and best friends who work together as security guards and wander the city making observations about contemporary America until their opposing perspectives are challenged by an unexpected development in their lives that neither saw coming. And despite the comfort she takes in her daily routine, Julie Berman (Olympia Dukakis) discovers that her passion for life has long since died, until a visit with a childhood friend helps her to realize just what she's been missing all these lonely years. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 28 min.
Directed By: Danny Leiner
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Jun 23, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Sep 12, 2006
Studio: First Independent Pictures

Critic Reviews

Bob Longino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Not all the little stories and vignettes work (some seem almost pointless), but most of the performances, especially a haughty luncheon under a veil of politeness with Gyllenhaal and Falco, are spot on, involving and revealing.
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
It may be the 9/11 movie to which the most people can relate. For most of us, that date wasn't about personal heroics or losing loved ones or survival. It was about processing the impossible and realizing that life, with all its ups and downs, must go on.
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
Luminous, affecting, and at times humorous take on 9/11's aftermath.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
While the film rarely imparts a true sense of messy everyday feelings and the strife of real life, the fine actors take your mind off the shortcomings.
Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Set on the one-year anniversary of the twin towers' collapse, the drama interweaves five stories about New Yorkers. It's a testament to the city's resolve to resume life as normal.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
...director Danny Leiner uses a dainty palette of tristesse (untouched when he made Dude, Where's My Car?) to suggest that the shadow of 9/11 makes every discontent more pathetic.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...The Great New Wonderful boasts a pervasively aimless atmosphere that slowly but surely wears the viewer down and ensures that the film's overtly positive elements are ultimately rendered moot.
Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
Candid but hermetic NYC emotional aftershocks Of 9/11.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
No film that I've yet seen better captures the dismal mood that gripped the city in the wake of the [9/11] attacks...
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
While it's not always successful at doing so, this film does have its perceptive, thoughtful moments. And it features one of the best ensemble casts in recent memory.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
[The characters], like us, are looking for answers in a rare movie that boldly and thoughtfully asks the right questions.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
There are amusing moments sprinkled throughout the film, a few genuine laughs, and some nicely played dramatic scenes.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
Leiner...wants to say something important, but his cinematic and narrative technique isn't up to the task.
Cynthia Fuchs, PopMatters
Yet -- and quite in spite of its plinky piano score -- The Great New Wonderful conjures occasional vividness, irrepressible pain or insight.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
There's an emotional truth to TGNW that can be denied or ignored, and it comes through if you give the movie a chance.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
The movie itself is having an identity crisis; it tries to make 9/11 a significant day in these people's lives and it has nothing to do with that day, both at the same time.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
It's in the Magnolia/Short Cuts vein and, although it's not as good as those classics, the characters and their dilemmas are absorbing.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Alice S

Capitalizing on tragedy - blatantly and superficially. The script is too unspecific. It expects the audience to fill in the blanks of these characters' lives with our own interesting anecdotes and vocabulary. There's nothing insightful or different about these people.… More
Capitalizing on tragedy - blatantly and superficially. The script is too unspecific. It expects the audience to fill in the blanks of these characters' lives with our own interesting anecdotes and vocabulary. There's nothing insightful or different about these people. They're soooo regular. Just regular people dealing with 9/11. A slice of life that is too half-baked. I was hoping to like another Danny Leiner movie, but I guess the only similarity between this and <i>H&K</i> is the Indian demographic. In all seriousness though, I found Satish's and Avi's characters the most intriguing for their seamless melding of Hindi and English.
Curtis L

Much less crappy than I thought it would be. A handful of good character studies done by good actors made it decent. Especially Tony Shaloub and his A-hole character that he always seems to play when he isn't Monk. Plus Judy Greer is nice to look at.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]Set in September 2002 in New York City, "The Great New Wonderful" consists of five separate storylines:[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Satish(Sharat Saxena) and Avi(Naseeruddin Shah) are two bodyguards who go about their… More
[font=Century Gothic]Set in September 2002 in New York City, "The Great New Wonderful" consists of five separate storylines:[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Satish(Sharat Saxena) and Avi(Naseeruddin Shah) are two bodyguards who go about their jobs.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Judy Hillerman(Olympia Dukakis) is hardly speaking to her husband, when she runs into an old school friend.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]A boy, Charlie Burbage(Billy Donner), has been acting out again.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Sandie(JIm Gaffigan) is visited at work by a psychologist, Dr. Trabulous(Tony Shalhoub).[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Emme(Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a high-end pastry chef.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"The Great New Wonderful" is a too earnest take on a disparate group of New Yorkers. There is not a lot of story here. Instead, the movie tries to rely alone on mood to convey the state of New York City one year after the 9/11 attacks, but does not come close to succeeding even with a fine cast and some good thoughts about how life is precious.[/font]