WONDERFUL WORLD

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"Wonderful World" is a faulty independent drama which adds up to less than the sum of its underdeveloped parts.

Matthew Broderick is Ben Singer, a cynical divorced guy who can't even manage to cheer up when he has custody of his quirky daughter Sandra (Jodie Ferland).

Living with a roommate in a small apartment, Ben drives his tiny car to a dreary day job proofing legal briefs. Ben, it turns out, was once a successful singer/songwriter of children's folk songs, with at least one popular album under his belt.

When his Senegalese roommate Ibu (Michael K. Williams) slips into a diabetic coma, Ben comes to the rescue and soon strikes up a romance with Ibu's visiting sister Khadi (well played by Sanaa Lathan).

Writer Joshua Goldin makes an inauspicious directorial debut with a malnourished script that never resonates because the author is seemingly afraid to express any ideas beyond its don't-worry-be-happy theme.

Ben's vague sense of defeated idealism sparks to life briefly under the threat of hot romantic attraction, but the story refuses to catch fire.  

Rated R. 92 mins.