Wonderland

The true-life events behind Wonderland – involving porn star John Holmes’ involvement in an infamous murder – purportedly inspired Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. But unlike that film, Wonderland revels in sleaze and unpleasantness; director and co-writer James Cox is seemingly uninterested in giving us a single compelling character. Instead, the movie is filled to the brim with obnoxious and annoying figures – exacerbated by Cox’s hyper-kinetic directorial style. Val Kilmer stars as Holmes, and it’s impossible to deny the fact that he gives an electrifying performance. But we’re never really given a reason to care about Holmes, despite Kilmer’s exceedingly energetic screen presence. Set in 1981, the film follows a few months in the life of Holmes as he becomes involved with a group of drug addicts (including Josh Lucas’ Ron and Dylan McDermott’s David). Along with his teenaged girlfriend (played by Kate Bosworth), Holmes tries desperately to extricate himself from this self-destructive lifestyle – but the brutal murders of his druggie cohorts prevents that from happening. Cox has chosen to present this material in the most over-the-top fashion you can imagine, from twitchy visual gimmicks to non-linear storytelling. But all his tricks become distracting after a while, and we’re left with a movie that’s filled with scarcely developed characters. Virtually the only aspect of the film that does work is the acting; every role has been filled almost to perfection. Even the ordinarily one-note Lisa Kudrow manages to deliver an effective performance as Holmes’ concerned ex-wife. Wonderland isn’t a bad film, really – it’s just wholly unnecessary.

** out of ****