The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Features  |  Reviews
FIND MOVIES
Find a Movie
Movie List
Loading ...
or
Find Theaters and Movie Times
or
Search Movies

Review: Phoebe in Wonderland

An awkward yet rewarding wonderment
By TOM MEEK  |  March 11, 2009
2.5 2.5 Stars


VIDEO: The trailer for Phoebe in Wonderland

No, not every movie with a precocious, infectiously cute young girl has to star Dakota Fanning — there's her sister Elle, who serves notice here with a remarkable performance as the misunderstood character of the title.

Phoebe's a bit off center; she says inappropriate things at inappropriate times and doesn't get along with her classmates. Her over-busy parents (Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman) sense her budding dysfunction but choose to take the denial route. Only the oddball drama teacher (the always great Patricia Clarkson) seems to get Phoebe, casting her in a theatrical version of the Lewis Carroll fantasy.

Melodrama and artifice loom, but writer/director Daniel Barnz endows Phoebe with enough tenderness and wit (and the strong cast includes Campbell Scott as the stodgy principal) to make Phoebe in Wonderland an awkward yet rewarding wonderment.

Related: Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Review: Gran Torino, Review: Anthony Hamilton | The Point of it All, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Celebrity News, Entertainment, Movie Stars,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

ARTICLES BY TOM MEEK
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REVIEW: NINJA ASSASSIN  |  November 25, 2009
    So much blood splashes across the screen in James McTeigue’s martial-arts madness, you’d think the human body consisted of nothing but.
  •   CANNONBALL QUIETS HARVARD QUAD  |  November 04, 2009
    It’s been awhile since we had to worry about the multi-colored national danger spectrum, but last week, the northwestern quadrant of Harvard Square was put on high alert.
  •   REVIEW: WARREN MILLER'S DYNASTY  |  November 04, 2009
    How many death-defying stunts can one behold before they become repetitious? Quite a few, it would seem.
  •   REVIEW: SAW VI  |  October 30, 2009
    Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), the self-righteous serial killer of the long-toothed franchise, may have succumbed to cancer a few films back, but he remains very much alive in plot and presence.
  •   REVIEW: MOTHERHOOD  |  October 22, 2009
    Being a mother can be stressful.

 See all articles by: TOM MEEK

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group