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movie review - Wonderland

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

This is a telling of an unpleasant and unfortunately true incident in the early 80's, in which the former porn star John Holmes (played by Val Kilmer) attempted to play two criminal gangs off of one another. It ends in a bloodbath, and there isn't one sympathetic character in the whole thing. They're dealing with interesting material here, if somewhat trite with so many movies have explored the drug-fueled years of the late 70's and early 80's.

On odd thing I noticed - despite the large cast in this movie, this is very much a one man show. Kilmer is everywhere, while people like Jeneane Garafalo and Christina Applegate all but disappear into the woodwork (you didn't even get a good look at Applegate's face at any point in this thing). Dylan McDermott does an amazing job as the badass that survives the elimination of the Wonderland gang, but even he only plays a prominent part intermittently. The same goes for Lisa Kudrow's long-suffering estranged wife to the porn star. Over all, it's clumsy.

Not recommended.