tieman64 Hope Davis elevates "Next Stop Wonderland", a slight romantic comedy written and directed by Brad Anderson. Davis plays a melancholic nurse who paradoxically yearns for love and hungers to be alone. When her mother takes out a personals ad, Davis' character finds herself inundated with men, most of whom attempt to force themselves upon her.Eventually Davis meets a marine biologist played by Alan Gelfant. The duo instantly fall in love, having spent the rest of the film repeatedly "just missing each other". The film ends with our lovers discussing a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds". Elsewhere it contains quotes by Wordsworth: "from our better selves we have too long been parted by the hurrying world, and droop, sick of its business, into solitude." And so Davis' character believes herself to be trapped in dull, stifling routines, routines which are "out of sync" with who she believes she "really is". Gelfant, in contrast, creates rigid routines and proudly sticks to them (he even refuses to kill a fish for money etc). Through him, Davis thus learns the value of self-worth. She accepts her own "consistencies" as "not being foolish", but rather valid and intrinsic "parts" of what and who she "really is". Emerson's quote is itself from an essay titled "Self-Reliance", essentially a parable about trusting yourself and shrugging off outside pressures.The film contains a good supporting role by Philip Seymour Hoffman, some good dialogue, but Anderson's messy editing is less subversive than it thinks it is, and a subplot with local mafia men is atrocious.7.9/10 - Worth one viewing.

zerogirl42 If Preston Sturges was alive today, this is the kind of film I imagine him making. It's that good! Next Stop Wonderland is witty and full of clever dialog. The story is hilarious, but captures more depth than the typical romantic comedy.There are surprises and twists, but I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone. It definitely makes you question destiny versus luck.The nice thing about the film is that it's not a chick flick either. It may be told from the point-of-view of the heroine, but she is not whiny, wimpy or trying to be cutesy in every scene.It kind of reminds me of Swingers, but told from a female's point of view. Hope Davis isn't desperate like the lead in that film though. She's quite content to be alone most of the time, but the world keeps thrusting her into comical situation that break her bubble of solitude.This film is a winner.

sailor_rubi This movie really makes you think... It's one of those times when you are watching TV, and you just keep changing the channel, and then you see a scene that makes you watch a little bit longer, and then a little bit longer more, until you end up watching the entire movie. If you expect a overly romantic film, this is not for you, I believe this movie was made to observe life and it's mysterious ways to get you to fall in love, You make (what it seems) a silly choice and it affects you in everyway possible, but the best thing it's that you don't know it, and in the end everything is going to be all right. It also portrays very well that life doesn't start when you fall in love, but it gets better.

MoOvieLover I absolutely love this movie! Hope Davis is amazing, she always gives great performances in all the films that she is in and this is just another one of this performances. The lead male is this film is also very good, and come to think of it the whole cast is really excellent. this is film is about a lonely woman (davis) and the main guy, and them almost meeting each other but never actually doing so. This movie sort of reminded me of the film serendipity, but this is a much better film, with more interesting and much more believable characters. All in all i feel that this is a movie well worth seeing because everyone can relate to the loneliness in the film.