Wonder
A Movie Review
Rating: 4 Laurels
Wonder (2017): Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay star in an inspiring story of a loving family whose son, born with facial differences, enters a mainstream school for the first time.
While Wonder was on sale at Amazon Video, I decided to use up some of my no rush shipping credits and check it out. Not since The Florida Project have I been so compelled to recommend a movie.
Ostensibly, Wonder is the story of Auggie, a medically fragile child whose many surgeries have left him disfigured, much like Rocky in Mask. We meet Auggie as he is about to begin Middle School, venturing past the world of homeschooling for the first time. Children being children, Auggie immediately gets bullied by the "cool kids," but the quiet kids start seeing past his looks to what he is inside.
There is the imdb-type summary. However, if you only see Wonder as a story of Auggie, you are missing half the point. This movie is not about Auggie trying to find his place in the outside world, but rather about how Auggie impacts everyone around him's life. Like Next to Normal, it really examines the effect of disability on the family structure, as well as everyone from the inner circle on out in his social network.
It is implied that Auggie attends a rather exclusive private school. As a part of his orientation, the principal asks three kids to give Augie a tour of school. Julian and Charlotte are the "Cool Kids," but the third, Jack Will, is there on scholarship. You can tell he's kind of on the periphery himself, and he's just trying to fit in like any kid. Charlotte is cool nice, while Justin basically taunts Auggie from the first minute. After Auggie lets an academically struggling Jack copy off a quiz, it starts Auggie's first real friendship. Auggie overhears something Jack says to the cool kids just to be cool, takes it to heart, and cuts Jack off.
Jack is probably the character from whom we see the greatest growth, and in my opinion, one of the most interesting characters in the movie. In fact, we see the kids around Auggie, and especially those who choose to befriend him, grow more than we see Auggie grow himself. Auggie does exhibit some maturation, but it's more about getting over himself and fitting into the world around him. But the changes we see in Jack throughout, and some of the other cool kids by the end, are far more interesting and dramatic than those we see in Auggie.
Auggie has a sister named Via, who wished for a little brother for her fourth birthday. Much like Natalie, the daughter from Next to Normal, Via has pretty much learned to raise herself, with all of the time and attention going to her brother. She begins high school, eager to see her BFF Miranda, who has been off at camp all Summer. Miranda has turned into a "wild child" while she was away, discovering pink hair and makeup, and has found herself a whole new group of friends. Miranda had always been Via's lifeline, and now Via too was facing a new school with no friends.
The movie breaks away from the main narrative, at times, with the use of title cards, bearing a character's name. We get to see Jack's story, Via's story, Miranda's story, and even Mom's story, and we learn about how their worlds were changed by having Auggie in them. And I do not necessarily mean in a sunshine and puppy digs type of way.
If you haven't watched the movie yet, stop reading here, and return after you watch it. I am going to spoil the ending. If you HAVE watched the movie, be sure to read the spoiler-filled wrap-up that continues after the links to the movie.
I'm going to start spoiling things starting now. Have you watched the movie? Are you ready to read this?
I absolutely loved Jack's story. He went from the scholarship kid who could not fit in to the badass, willing to sacrifice himself to save his friend. First, we heard him lament being ditched by Auggie, and Auggie refusing to talk about it, and how badly that hurt him. We hear him say he had just gotten to the point where if he had to pick just one kid to hang with, it would be Auggie. And then he does what ANY kid his age would do: avoid social exile by going along with the cool kids making fun of a kid behind his back, something that is so normal at that age, it isn't even funny. We know Auggie is being bullied by Julian, and Auggie knows he makes fun of him any chance he gets: in mean notes and charactertures, to his face, behind his back, and most likely in his sleep.
Now let me digress to say that I had my year of being bullied. In my case, it was because I was pulled out of class both for speech therapy AND because I was too advanced for 1st grade reading, and had to join the 3rd grade class for that. My BFF told me she had to pretend to dislike me at school so that everyone else didn't hate her too. Yes, I had a lot of respect for the ONE kid who played with me at recess and ate lunch with me, but I still played with my BFF outside school. So I really CAN relate to what Auggie went through there. And quite frankly, I think he was WAY too rough on Jack.
Jack basically gave up everything for Auggie, and Auggie STILL refused to let him back in. EVEN when Jack put his scholarship on the line by decking Justin for calling Auggie a freak. THEN Jack did it again when he refused to be re-partnered for the Science Fair. (And to be fair, Jack didn't even know that Auggie had overheard that conversation the whole time he was being shunned.) FINALLY Auggie decided Jack had done enough penance, and he condescendingly took Jack back.
I think that is why I kind of felt cheated by the ending. As the principal was reading the lines, I was hoping they came from Jack's apology letter. I think the ending would have been SO more meaningful if Jack had gotten the award. As it is, it's EXACTLY the kind of thing Speechless likes to make fun of: give the disabled guy the pat on the head award.
We spend an hour and a half learning how everyone in Auggie's social circle gave up A LOT on the road to getting there. We see Miranda's story. We hear about her growing up feeling like Auggie were HER little bro, and when she adopts that life, feels so guilty and unworthy, she's afraid to try to get it back. We see how Mom and Sis gave up SO MUCH to make sure Auggie felt comfortable and accepted at all times. We see Via's self-torture for wanting both a life WITH Auggie as part of her family as well as a life without him.
All Auggie did was to be born looking different. He never knew what it was like to have something and lose it. Rather, all his life was about was getting gifts and miracles. He was born both blind and deaf, and had over 27 surgeries, each increasing his health and function.
Yes, Auggie changed a lot of people's lives, and he opened a lot of people's hearts. He endured bullying, refusing to back down. And he managed to turn around the whole social structure of that elite school, making his gang of outcasts and weirdos into The Cool Kids, and making Julian the Social Pariah.
But after seeing his parents....how can you NOT feel sorry for Julian? They are TEACHING him to behave like this. And unlike Cooper, the rich kid counterpart on American Housewife, he doesn't have Katie Otto to show him the errors of his upbringing.
No. if I had written this, I would have been true to the theme. I'd have given Jack Will the character award, as he was the one who showed the most growth and sacrificed the most along the way. AND he took two ass-whippings along the way.
That is why this movie only gets four laurels: because of the ending. Again, I think if you focus on this being Auggie's story, you're missing all the levels of depth in this movie. I did not see this as Auggie's story at all, but rather the story about how disability affects the family unit, as well as one's social network. I see it as a story of how the grass is always greener, and we look at others around us, secretly wishing to be them, while they are secretly wishing to be us. It shows how the person with the visible disability may think he has the hardest life, but sometimes that PWD isn't seeing all the issues "The Beautiful People" have. Via and Summer and Will all tried to show Auggie that, but I'm not sure he ever really got it. (But Via and Miranda did, as Miranda stepping aside on opening night showed.)
If you've read this far, I'm assuming you actually watched the movie. I'd LOVE to hear any comments you have, and especially thoughts on my review. Do you agree it's not really a story of Auggie, but rather of how Auggie causes those in his life to grow? Or do you think I'm WAY off. Hit up the comments and let me know.
Jack is probably the character from whom we see the greatest growth, and in my opinion, one of the most interesting characters in the movie. In fact, we see the kids around Auggie, and especially those who choose to befriend him, grow more than we see Auggie grow himself. Auggie does exhibit some maturation, but it's more about getting over himself and fitting into the world around him. But the changes we see in Jack throughout, and some of the other cool kids by the end, are far more interesting and dramatic than those we see in Auggie.
Auggie has a sister named Via, who wished for a little brother for her fourth birthday. Much like Natalie, the daughter from Next to Normal, Via has pretty much learned to raise herself, with all of the time and attention going to her brother. She begins high school, eager to see her BFF Miranda, who has been off at camp all Summer. Miranda has turned into a "wild child" while she was away, discovering pink hair and makeup, and has found herself a whole new group of friends. Miranda had always been Via's lifeline, and now Via too was facing a new school with no friends.
The movie breaks away from the main narrative, at times, with the use of title cards, bearing a character's name. We get to see Jack's story, Via's story, Miranda's story, and even Mom's story, and we learn about how their worlds were changed by having Auggie in them. And I do not necessarily mean in a sunshine and puppy digs type of way.
If you haven't watched the movie yet, stop reading here, and return after you watch it. I am going to spoil the ending. If you HAVE watched the movie, be sure to read the spoiler-filled wrap-up that continues after the links to the movie.
******SPOILER ALERT*****
****THIS PART OF THE REVIEW DISCUSSES THE ENDING*****
I'm going to start spoiling things starting now. Have you watched the movie? Are you ready to read this?
I absolutely loved Jack's story. He went from the scholarship kid who could not fit in to the badass, willing to sacrifice himself to save his friend. First, we heard him lament being ditched by Auggie, and Auggie refusing to talk about it, and how badly that hurt him. We hear him say he had just gotten to the point where if he had to pick just one kid to hang with, it would be Auggie. And then he does what ANY kid his age would do: avoid social exile by going along with the cool kids making fun of a kid behind his back, something that is so normal at that age, it isn't even funny. We know Auggie is being bullied by Julian, and Auggie knows he makes fun of him any chance he gets: in mean notes and charactertures, to his face, behind his back, and most likely in his sleep.
Now let me digress to say that I had my year of being bullied. In my case, it was because I was pulled out of class both for speech therapy AND because I was too advanced for 1st grade reading, and had to join the 3rd grade class for that. My BFF told me she had to pretend to dislike me at school so that everyone else didn't hate her too. Yes, I had a lot of respect for the ONE kid who played with me at recess and ate lunch with me, but I still played with my BFF outside school. So I really CAN relate to what Auggie went through there. And quite frankly, I think he was WAY too rough on Jack.
Jack basically gave up everything for Auggie, and Auggie STILL refused to let him back in. EVEN when Jack put his scholarship on the line by decking Justin for calling Auggie a freak. THEN Jack did it again when he refused to be re-partnered for the Science Fair. (And to be fair, Jack didn't even know that Auggie had overheard that conversation the whole time he was being shunned.) FINALLY Auggie decided Jack had done enough penance, and he condescendingly took Jack back.
I think that is why I kind of felt cheated by the ending. As the principal was reading the lines, I was hoping they came from Jack's apology letter. I think the ending would have been SO more meaningful if Jack had gotten the award. As it is, it's EXACTLY the kind of thing Speechless likes to make fun of: give the disabled guy the pat on the head award.
We spend an hour and a half learning how everyone in Auggie's social circle gave up A LOT on the road to getting there. We see Miranda's story. We hear about her growing up feeling like Auggie were HER little bro, and when she adopts that life, feels so guilty and unworthy, she's afraid to try to get it back. We see how Mom and Sis gave up SO MUCH to make sure Auggie felt comfortable and accepted at all times. We see Via's self-torture for wanting both a life WITH Auggie as part of her family as well as a life without him.
All Auggie did was to be born looking different. He never knew what it was like to have something and lose it. Rather, all his life was about was getting gifts and miracles. He was born both blind and deaf, and had over 27 surgeries, each increasing his health and function.
Yes, Auggie changed a lot of people's lives, and he opened a lot of people's hearts. He endured bullying, refusing to back down. And he managed to turn around the whole social structure of that elite school, making his gang of outcasts and weirdos into The Cool Kids, and making Julian the Social Pariah.
But after seeing his parents....how can you NOT feel sorry for Julian? They are TEACHING him to behave like this. And unlike Cooper, the rich kid counterpart on American Housewife, he doesn't have Katie Otto to show him the errors of his upbringing.
No. if I had written this, I would have been true to the theme. I'd have given Jack Will the character award, as he was the one who showed the most growth and sacrificed the most along the way. AND he took two ass-whippings along the way.
That is why this movie only gets four laurels: because of the ending. Again, I think if you focus on this being Auggie's story, you're missing all the levels of depth in this movie. I did not see this as Auggie's story at all, but rather the story about how disability affects the family unit, as well as one's social network. I see it as a story of how the grass is always greener, and we look at others around us, secretly wishing to be them, while they are secretly wishing to be us. It shows how the person with the visible disability may think he has the hardest life, but sometimes that PWD isn't seeing all the issues "The Beautiful People" have. Via and Summer and Will all tried to show Auggie that, but I'm not sure he ever really got it. (But Via and Miranda did, as Miranda stepping aside on opening night showed.)
If you've read this far, I'm assuming you actually watched the movie. I'd LOVE to hear any comments you have, and especially thoughts on my review. Do you agree it's not really a story of Auggie, but rather of how Auggie causes those in his life to grow? Or do you think I'm WAY off. Hit up the comments and let me know.
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