Wonder

“While Wonder does generally reflect its diverse setting of New York City, leading roles remain exclusively white.”

Title: Wonder (2017)
Director: Stephen Chbosky 👨🏼🇺🇸
Writers: Original novel by R.J. Palacio 👩🏼🇺🇸 and screenplay by Stephen Chbosky 👨🏼🇺🇸, Steve Conrad 👨🏼🇺🇸, and Jack Thorne 👨🏼🇬🇧

Reviewed by Li 👩🏻🇺🇸

Technical: 4.25/5

Wonder is a sweet family film that teaches lessons about friendship and the virtues of kindness without ever feeling too soupy. Strong performances and writing make this highly enjoyable, and may resonate with any kids dealing with issues of being singled out in school or bullied.

However, the film’s edges are rounded, everything doused in a healthy dose of Hollywood magic. Without the teeth that other films could display on the subject matter of living life with a facial difference, Wonder is ultimately a feel-good film that escapes lasting grit.

Gender: 5/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES

The main character Auggie (Jacob Tremblay) commands this film and the plot revolves around his friends and family, most of whom are male. But Wonder makes up for this gender imbalance through a positive rebuttal of toxic masculinity. Auggie is allowed to develop deep, male friendships. His father (Owen Wilson) is seen crying in a somber moment, after which he and Auggie hug it out. Meanwhile, Auggie’s male teacher and principal play compassionate figures in his life while, in a refreshing role reversal, his science teacher is played by a woman who supports the more cerebral, career-oriented aspects of her studen’s life. When Auggie and his closest friend Jack (Noah Jupe) are given an award for their science fair project, it’s also handed out by a woman. It’s these kinds of small, seemingly insignificant details that go a long way in fighting subconscious biases.

The leading women of Wonder are complex creatures too, even if they do see slightly less screen time. Auggie’s mother, Isabelle, is portrayed wonderfully by Julia Roberts as a woman who is both strong and vulnerable. While Isabelle does drop everything in her life to homeschool her son, her story arc maintains momentum as she resumes her interrupted career to complete her Master’s thesis. It’s great to see Isabelle’s daughter, Via (Izabela Vidovic), deem her mother inspirational due to this tenacity. And Via herself is a relatable portrait of a loving older sibling who nonetheless has troubles of her own. She is believably insecure but displays quiet strengths as well.

Race: 3/5
GradeMyMovie.com Assessment: 0% of creative decision-makers were POC

Wonder exemplifies our scoring pretty much to the letter:

A 3/5 in Race means people of color were written respectfully, but their characters were less complex than the white characters or were underrepresented.

While the film does generally reflect its diverse setting of New York City, leading roles remain exclusively white.

David Edelstein of Vulture has an interesting take on the people of color who are included, pointing out that:

Three of the movie’s first sensitive responders are black [or mixed-race]: the ethics-oriented teacher, Mr. Brown (Daveed Diggs); Summer (Millie Davis), who sits beside Auggie at lunch; and Justin (Nadji Jeter), the high-school violin player who’s instantly smitten with Via and encourages her to try out for the school play. The obvious implication is that black people can relate to Auggie’s alienation in a way the privileged white kids can’t.

Bonus for LGBTQ: +0.00

When Auggie and Jack are bullied by older kids, they are condescendingly called “boyfriends.” If this moment was overplayed I’d deduct from the overall score, but luckily the scene is brief.

Deduction for Disability: -0.75

Auggie’s facial difference, caused by Treacher Collins syndrome, is deeply explored in the film. But Hollywood needs to stop casting nondisabled actors into disabled roles. Disability advocate Jay Ruderman reminds us, “We no longer find it acceptable for white actors to portray black characters. Disability as a costume needs to also become universally unacceptable.”

Mediaversity Grade: B 3.83/5

Wonder may ostensibly be a film about a young boy’s struggle with looking different, but lurking just beneath this veneer is a broader message: that all individuals experience personal struggles, so we should be exercising greater empathy to all our neighbors—not just those with visible vulnerabilities. A laudable moral, if poorly communicated due to its exclusionary casting of a nondisabled actor into the leading role.

9/15/2022: Updated Disability score to reflect current methodology

Like Wonder? Try these other heartfelt, family-centric titles.

Grade: BLiNovember 21, 2017Great for: Gender