Hopefully, it is no secret to
you that Val Kilmer is one of the best actors in Hollywood
today. Sure, he did turn Batman into a sissy, but just
think about some of his other mesmerizing films, like
"The Doors", "Tombstone", and "The
Ghost and the Darkness". He is dripping with both
charisma and intensity. In "Wonderland", he
delivers possibly his most complete performance to date,
as porn superstar and Hollywood legend John Holmes. And,
though his performance is intense and emotionally diverse as
any in recent memory, his is not the performance that shines
brightest in the film.
Val Kilmer is John Holmes, aka Johnny Wadd, who starred in
over 1,000 porn films in the 1970's.
"Wonderland", however, is not the John Holmes story
-- it centers around one event in his life that led to infamy.
When Holmes tells four of his dopehead friends that his buddy
Eddie Nash (Eric Bogosian) keeps tons of cash in his house,
they decide to go and rob him, stealing cash and jewelry.
Eventually, Holmes is fingered by Nash and beaten until he squeals
on his four friends. Holmes then, according to legend,
helps Nash's henchmen break into 8763 Wonderland Avenue, where
they brutally murder the four dopeheads in one of the most
grisly death scenes ever discovered in the Hollywood Hills.
Lisa Kudrow and Kate Bosworth supply supplemental plot as
Holmes' wife and girlfriend, but I will get into their
performances in a moment.
"Wonderland" is a cross between "Boogie
Nights" and "Auto Focus". Kilmer replaces
Wahlberg, Kudrow replaces Moore, and Bosworth replaces Graham.
And, as in "Auto Focus", Kilmer plays Holmes much as
Kinnear played Crane -- as a man with an addiction who needed
help, but was ultimately brought down by it. Here, we do
not see so much of a film about a porn star and his
profession, as we do a film about a man with inner demons who
let his habit get the best of him. Kilmer is phenomenal
with his emotional depth and character complexity -- certainly
Oscar worthy.
The most intriguing parts of "Wonderland" involves
the relationship between Holmes, his wife Sharon (Kudrow) and
his girlfriend Dawn (Bosworth). Holmes seems to be with
Dawn because of her energy and youth, but stays with his wife
because of her wisdom and strength and ability to keep him on
the straight and narrow, at times. Kudrow delivers one
of the best supporting performances of the year as Sharon
Holmes, proves that she is one hell of a dramatic actress, and
will, hopefully, be the first 'Friends' cast member to be
nominated for and win a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award.
She is absolutely incredible here.
If you go to see "Wonderland" expecting to see
another "Boogie Nights" or a biography of the life
of John Holmes, you will be wholly disappointed. This is
a film about love, addiction, and the mistakes that we make in
life. It is a film with magnificent performances,
magnificent plotlines, and one of the most magnificent
character studies in a long time. "Wonderland"
is one of the best films of the year and will hopefully show
the world what Lisa Kudrow can do with a role. She is
worth admission alone.
