Wonderland

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Wonderland

R

2003

1h 44m

Crime

Drama

Biography

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

34%

Tomatometer

99 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

In this fact-based film, John Holmes (Val Kilmer) is one of the most successful porn stars of all time. But, when his rampant drug abuse forces him into prostitution, both his disapproving wife, Sharon (Lisa Kudrow), and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Dawn (Kate Bosworth), are on the verge of leaving him. As John sinks lower and lower into Hollywood, Calif.'s criminal underworld, he meets a seedy drug lord (Eric Bogosian) and finds himself caught up in a tragic chain of events.

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Critics Consensus

A sordid and pointless movie with some good preformances.

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Antonia Quirke

London Evening Standard

Dec 15, 2017

From a distance, Val Kilmer still passes as beautiful... But close up, his is the face of corruption: an intense mass of beforehis-time lines. There is certainly a great role out there for him, but reallife former porn star John C Holmes isn't it.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 29, 2010

2/5

Very sordid and unexpectedly dull; adults only.

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Jul 29, 2005

D+

Unwarrantedly interested in B-list celebrity-gone-to-seed.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 18, 2025

2/4

A shallow recreation of an era, of a lifestyle, and of a counterculture -- in short, a pale facsimile of Paul Thomas Anderson’s superb Boogie Nights.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Sep 27, 2020

3.5/4.0

Sad, intense, and beautifully acted.

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Jun 14, 2009

B-

Val Kilmer ("The Salton Sea") fails to manifest the eccentric character of notorious porn legend Johnny "Wadd" Holmes in this artful but unbalanced dramatization of the gruesome 1981 Laurel Canyon murders that Holmes was implicated in committing.

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Justin C

@RT81576740 Aug 3, 2026

Boring. Just a film u leave on and clean or do something else . Just 2 say u watched it

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Andrew R.

@RT39097518 May 27, 2026

Wonderland, in pacing, definitely follows in the footsteps of films like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Boogie Nights and Blow. Critics pretty much eviscerated Wonderland when it was released and I've never been able to pinpoint a precise reason. The pacing is great, the whole thing is structured well, it REALLY shines on the technical side, cinematography....and ESPECIALLY editing I would have given it an Academy Award nomination for film editing. The film is pretty hard hitting. The last few minutes, when they play out the FULL event, are pretty intense and I get nervous and sweaty when I know it's coming. The problem lies with the leading man himself, Val Kilmer. While he's a HIGHLY attractive version of John Holmes, He comes off almost as a parody of the real man....an absolutely stupid, brain dead fool...he wasn't. The performance is almost comic-is....as he's reduced to a mumbling, helpless moron. Kilmer can't decide if he wants to be Jim Morrison here or THE dumbest man on earth

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Jason H

@RT50328122 Feb 26, 2026

Excellent performances, especially by Val Kilmer. You'll probably wanna take a shower after watching this.

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Bruce M

@BruceMc Feb 6, 2026

Simply okay, good performances from Kilmer, Bogosian and McDermott. Truly awful needle-drops. Non-linear narrative is okay, but the film would have benefitted from any mention of the reasons behind Holmes' professional and physical decline and drug addiction, etc.

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Jack F

@MovieFan111 Jan 20, 2026

I didn't enjoy it. That's all I have to say. It's not a very likeable movie now is it?

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Mania I.

@TheMania510 Nov 22, 2025

Val Kilmer plays John Holmes, one of the biggest adult movie stars from the 70s. From a distance he resembles him but up close not so much. Loosely based on crimes he was allegedly involved in it never seems to completely pull the story off. Great cast and well acted. The script was not so hot and the direction was chaotic. The ending doesn't conclude anything leaving too many questions.

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James Cox

Director

Val Kilmer

John Holmes

Kate Bosworth

Dawn Schiller

Lisa Kudrow

Sharon Holmes

Josh Lucas

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Synopsis

In this fact-based film, John Holmes (Val Kilmer) is one of the most successful porn stars of all time. But, when his rampant drug abuse forces him into prostitution, both his disapproving wife, Sharon (Lisa Kudrow), and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Dawn (Kate Bosworth), are on the verge of leaving him. As John sinks lower and lower into Hollywood, Calif.'s criminal underworld, he meets a seedy drug lord (Eric Bogosian) and finds himself caught up in a tragic chain of events.

Director: James Cox
Producer: Holly Wiersma, Michael Paseornek
Screenwriter: Captain Mauzner, James Cox, Todd Samovitz, D. Loriston Scott
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Killer Films, Emmett/Furla Films
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama, Biography, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Surround

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