WONDER (2017)

DIR: Stephen Chbosky

Honestly, WONDER had my stone cold heart on edge and my eyes filling with tears in the privacy of the back row of a dark theater. I say, with confidence, it is one of the most charming and heartwarming movies that was released last year.

A character driven film, we follow the stories of many unique individuals. Auggie, the star, with his facial imperfections (who Jacob Tremblay did a wonderful job portraying, and had an excellent makeup team since I kept on forgetting it was him playing the part). Olivia, and her struggle with being noticed or cared about in her family. Miranda, and her insecurities and fear of not being accepted for the person she is. The bullies, the friends, the parents just being parents. Each story is heartbreaking, triumphant, and relatable. I remember the days of bullies, feeling unattractive, and not feeling good enough. In this film, each act of bullying made my heart break, and each act of kindness made my heart swell. Both led to tears of different kinds. 

I happened to watch this in a theater with quite a large audience. Normally this would annoy me, but the commentary of fellow audience members only added to the movie: the laughs, the gasps, the awwws. We shared these moments of triumph when Jack Will stands up for the underdog, a gasp of love when Via finds someone who makes her feel important, and laughs throughout at Owen Wilson being the perfect dorky dad (side note: If Wilson is the perfect dad, isn’t Julia Roberts the perfect mom actress? I love seeing her in parts like this).

I’m thrilled that so many elementary school students read the book and saw this film in their classes. The kids are so realistic and real for that demographic, and I really hope they related to the film and were able to learn something from it. 

This film has many sad moments as the precious Auggie gets bullied and hurt, but there is also so much to smile about as he gains friends, shows off his smarts, and chooses to be kind no matter what the odds. It more than deserves the cliché happy ending it has. I truly felt like his parents clapping at the end: proud that this fictional child made it through school and eventually had a good time. 

There are so many valuable lessons to be learned from this film. It’s summed up best by their own campaign: Choose Kind. Please always choose kind. This film is truly a wonder, and so are all of you ♥