Customer Reviews

Wonderland [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
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John O'Hagan's brilliant, feature-length documentary about the America's first planned community is a beautiful portrait of Levittown, New York. With commentary by Levittown natives Eddie "Two Tickets to Paradise" Money, Zippy the Pinhead creator Bill Griffiths and a host of (more interesting) current residents, Wonderland demonstrates the transformative power of personality and character over the forces of bland conformity. Like a more playful Errol Morris, O'Hagan lets the humanity of his cast of characters shine through. This film is incredible - unbelievably funny without being snide, beautifully shot and edited, and not to be missed. The fact that it is no longer available from the studio is a crime.

The film "Wonderland" (aka "The FruitMachine") is a surprisingly dippy, imaginative romp involving twogay teenaged boys who happen to witness a gangland murder and are forced to flee Liverpool for Brighton. The film takes many inventive turns, several of which involve Eddie's dream lover, a man-dolphin hybrid who actually appears at crucial moments in the film to save Eddie and his partner, Michael. There are many subplots and colorful supporting characters, and the ending, albeit sad, is inevitable. It's worth it if only for the dance sequence at the Fruit Machine, a gay showbar in Liverpool, in which Michael competes for thirty quid. His dance is both erotic and touchingly naive. Both boys, Emile Charles and Tony Forsyth, should have had big careers in film. Apart from one distracting editing lapse that blunts the finale, this is a superior film, in that it refuses to indulge in stereotyping and doesn't condescend to its lead characters.

The customer review you have is for the correct movie. I agree with everything that reviewer said. How do we get them to release it for sale?

This imaginative and moving little British film is full of wonder. The type of 'wonder' children and artists enjoy when something sparks their fantasy life. Sixteen-year-old Eddie, played to perfection by Emile Charles, is such a boy. His working-class mum has instilled in him romantic cinematic fantasies. Their real life, however, is not so nice and for all its mythology and fantasy, this special film is gritty and thruthful. Eddie's best mate Michael (Tony Forsyth) hustles and steals to survive. As played by the remarkable Tony Forsyth, he is astonishingly naive, tender, seductive, and street-wise all at the same time. Caravaggio would have wanted to paint this lovely boy. After being brutalized at home and witnessing a viscious killing, they run away together to live on their own and have adventures. They truly love each other and behave like a little married couple. Eddie lives in a fantasy world of opera and cinema, and exhuberantly imagines that they are like Marilyn and Jane Russell, or Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. Michael brings home the bacon, and protects Eddie from the reality of where the money comes from. Their story is further complicated by the killer's pursuit, Michael's misdemeanors, and Eddie's dreams of a dolphin man who saves them both. Get out your handkerchiefs for the ending of this extraordinary film. It will break your heart.

Wonderland, aka The Fruit Machine, made in 1988, is my fave movie of all time. I did my uni dissertation on Frank Clarke, the writer, an incredibly sweet and witty guy, who based the character of Eddie on himself at the age of 16. Frank also wrote the screenplays for Letter to Brezhnev and Blonde Fist. Emile Charles is the brother of the rather more famous (if less talented) Craig Charles, and also appeared in the movie Like It Is. Tony Forsyth worked with the Royal Shakespeare company for a while. Erm, that's about it. And I dunno where that jacket photo came from, but that chick weren't in my movie.....

I have seen this hilarious documentary of Levittown and wish to buy the video. The jacket photo is correct, but the initial reviews I have read apply to another film entirely! If the documentary is out of print, how do I obtain a copy...and...if someone advertises a used copy, how do I make sure it is the correct video? Anyone?

Great movie, a must see with excellent editing...wish to own!