Cocaine is a helluva drug.
The Flick
Unlike the other John Holmes film Boogie Nights, Wonderland takes a much more serious and dramatic look at the final years of his life. On July 1st 1981, when four people are found dead in a house on Wonderland Ave, detectives (Franky G and Ted Levine) are sent into investigate. At the scene of the crime they find David Lind (Dylan McDermott, The Messengers) and his story places he and porn star John Holmes (Val Kilmer, Heat, Top Gun) as possible suspects. The film unravels with each of them telling their version of the story that led up to the murders with the truth revealed in the last part of the film.
In the early moments of the film we see how irresponsible John has become because of his drug use when he leaves Dawn alone on the streets. She’s picked up by a holy roller (Carrie Fisher, Star Wars) and taken to her apartment. When John eventually meets up with her, they end up doing coke in her bathroom and begin having sex before they are kicked out. They laugh about the situation while having no remorse for their actions. It’s a realistic interpretation of how drug addicts act, losing regard for others in order to get a fix. The rest of the film offers plenty of similar shock filled moments.
Fans of films like Blow and Requiem for a Dream will appreciate what Wonderland offers. Much like those films, there’s a heavy amount of drug use and violence present here. It’s like watching a train wreck. It’s incredibly sad seeing the characters slowly destroy themselves as the film goes on, but you just can’t look away. It’s definitely an anti-drug movie.
Seeing both Val Kilmer and Kate Bosworth in this type of role certainly shows their versatility as actors, but on the other hand seeing their characters doped up and constantly doing coke and smoking crack throughout the film produces more shock value than it does true entertainment. That goes for the rest of the actors present as well. With that said, it makes sense for the movie. Robbing someone like Nash in broad daylight without masks is just plain ludicrous. Doing it while high is almost believable.
Audio and Video
Lionsgate has given us another great transfer with this one. The 1080p High Def widescreen presentation looks awesome with only a touch of grain present. The English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track won’t blow your speakers, but there’s great host of classic tunes on this one. The dialogue track is a little softer than the rest of the audio but it doesn’t deter from the experience. There are also English and Spanish subtitles available.
Special Features and Packaging
Wonderlandon Blu-ray comes as a single-disc collection with the following extras:
- Commentary with James Cox and Captain Mauzner
- Interviews with cast members
- Court TVclip “Hollywood at Large”
- Original LAPD Crime Scene Footage
- Wadd, The Life and Times of John C. Holmes documentary
- Deleted Scenes
The commentary track with both of the writers is one of the best I’ve heard in a long time. It’s apparent that both gentlemen love their jobs and are very knowledgeable about every aspect that went into making this film. The interviews are nothing more than each actor or actress answering a question or two. They don’t really offer much in the way of details on the film. The Court TV clip runs about five minutes and feels like an advertisement for the film with bits of the movie mixed in with pieces from the original news cast.
The deleted scenes range from John doing a LOT more drugs to bits that introduced some new characters. None of it really adds much and I can see why they deleted them. The crime scene footage is just that, the original footage taken by the police upon investigation of the murders. Be warned, it’s pretty brutal. The real treat in this collection is the Wadd documentary. Running almost two hours it’s all the real dirt behind John Holmes, his career, and the porn industry during the 70s. There’s a ton of great stuff here. If you’re already a fan of this film, you’ll love all the extra info it offers.
Overall
With a stellar transfer and a host of great special features, fans of John Holmes and his career will love what Wonderland on Blu-ray offers. Its heavy drug use and violence may turn off some, but it’s worth a rental nonetheless.
ComicsOnline gives Wonderland on Blu-ray 3.5 out of 5 drug-filled binges.
Buy Wonderland on Blu-ray at Amazon.com now.
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