Next Stop Wonderland (1998)

My film & society teacher showed us this film that takes place in Boston and has to do with two people that don't believe in fate, but end up together. The movie is about a woman named Erin (Hope Davis) and Alan (Alan Gelfant) and all the trials and tribulations that they go through in their lives. Erin has been dumped by her boyfriend (a brilliant Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and is sort of content being alone, but ultimately wants to find someone. Alan is a man that is running away from what everyone believes is his destiny (Being a plumber) and wants to be a marine biologist. Erin goes through all the motions and after her mother places an ad for her in the Boston Herald personals, decides to go on these dates. Of course, all of her dates are disastrous and she never finds Mr. Right, but then she runs into a man that is really a womanizer, but is sort of pushing the right strings with her. Alan in the meantime, has to deal with owing a bookie money, stealing a balloon fish from the aquarium, and dealing with a girl (Cara Buono) he knows isn't the one he wants. Then the faithful scene happens and these two meet and they fall in love. The end. This was an okay movie, but a lot of it could have been chopped off and made into a short film. That would've been more powerful. The movie also stars Ken Cheeseman (Shutter Island) as Rick, Jose Zuniga (Twilight) as Andre, Larry Gilliard Jr. (The Waterboy) as Brett, Roger Rees (If Looks Could Kill) as Alan's professor, The brilliant Holland Taylor (Two And The Half Men) as Erin's mother, and Robert Klein (Poison Ivy) as Arty Lesser. I give this movie a C+