Mr. Wonderful

New York City love story with Matt Dillon and Annabella Sciorra

A Con Edison electrician in Manhattan (Matt Dillon) needs money to buy/renovate a bowling alley with his four partners and so tries to find a husband for his ex-wife (Annabella Sciorra) so he can stop paying alimony. Mary-Louise Parker plays his girlfriend while William Hurt appears as the ex’s beau, a college professor. Vincent D'Onofrio is also on hand.

"Mr. Wonderful" (1993) is a solid enough romantic drama with some amusing touches set in the Big Apple. It’s a great movie to see Manhattan in the early 90s, big hair and all (e.g. Sciorra). It successfully establishes the main characters and you buy into their story.

On top of this you get Parker at the height of her beauty, which the director doesn’t fail to tastefully display on a few occasions. Speaking of the director, Anthony Minghella would go on to direct notable films like “The English Patient” (1996) and “Cold Mountain” (2003). Unfortunately he died prematurely at the age of 54 from a hemorrhage following surgery to remove tonsils & neck cancer.

The film runs 1 hour, 39 minutes, and was shot in Manhattan & points nearby.

GRADE: B-