The Great New Wonderful
The Great New Wonderful is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written by Sam Catlin and directed by Danny Leiner. It stars Naseeruddin Shah, Tony Shalhoub, Jim Gaffigan, Sharat Saxena, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Olympia Dukakis, and tells the tales of several New Yorkers a year after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The film premiered on April 22, 2005 at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 26, 2006.
Plot
The Great New Wonderful is a series of vignettes of incidents taking place concurrently around Manhattan. The only other thing linking the incidents is the month in which they occur: September 2002. Recurring themes include frustration and sugar.The vignettes include:
- An accountant undergoing a therapy session in the office of a passive-aggressive psychologist.
- Two immigrants from India on security detail for a visiting dignitary.
- An ambitious pastry chef preparing a professional pitch that she hopes will make her the reigning doyenne of New York's competitive cake scene.
- A Brooklyn housewife fixes her husband's dinner and then sits at the kitchen table making collages out of old magazines while her husband sits on the balcony, smoking a cigarette.
- Allison & David Burbage struggle to keep their marriage together while coping with their increasingly difficult and strangely self-possessed 10-year-old son.
Cast
- Olympia Dukakis — Judy Hillerman
- Jim Gaffigan — Sandie
- Judy Greer — Allison Burbage
- Maggie Gyllenhaal — Emme Keeler
- Tom McCarthy — David Burbage
- Sharat Saxena — Satish
- Naseeruddin Shah — Avi
- Tony Shalhoub — Dr. Trabulous
- Edie Falco — Safarah Polsky
- Stephen Colbert — Mr. Peersall
- Jim Parsons — Justin
- Seth Gilliam – Clayton
- Will Arnett – Danny Keeler
- Tony Kushner – Himself
- Ari Graynor – Lisa Krindel
- Julie Dretzin – Julie Driscoll
- Rosemarie DeWitt – Debbie
- Tonye Patano – Shirley
- Alex McCord – Jessilyn
- Dick Latessa – Jerry Binder
- Sam Catlin – Councilman Blenick
- Marilyn Chris – Phyllis
- Anita Gillette – Lainie
- David Costabile – Vending Machine Guy
- Meredith Ostrom – Anita
- Fred Burrell – Wexler Whitehead