I recently watched a film called “Phoebe In Wonderland.” I might say this is an excellent movie. “Phoebe In Wonderland” tells the story of Phoebe (Elle Fanning), a “unique” 9-year old girl who gets cast as Alice in her school’s production of “Alice in Wonderland.” Then, the various characters come to her to give her advice on her personal life, for she is as I said before “unique.” Bill Pullman, Felicity Huffman and Patricia Clarkson also are featured in this. This film is done very stylistically. It has a, dare I say, “Wonderland”-like quality to it in the various sequences when Phoebe sees her Wonderland friends. Director/Writer Daniel Barnz really makes you feel sympathetic for all the characters involved. Now, this movie could be categorized as a tragicomedy. At some points, you feel really upset for what Phoebe has to deal with and the lack of understanding expressed towards her. At other points, it is genuinely funny. One point is a certain monologue by Ms. Dodger (Patricia Clarkson), the eccentric director, about how when she was 10-years old, she “played Cleopatra and held the asp to her breast. You could hear a pin drop everyone was so entranced.” Also, one of my new favorite lines, “Is it AIDS?” is in this movie. A very touching film that deals with the modern child and the apparent ADHD epidemic that is sweeping the nation.

Overall Grade: A