It's a "Wonder" _ but in name only.
Despite earnest intentions, a good cast led by Julia Roberts and Jacob Tremblay and touching moments, cowriter-director Stephen Chbosky's family drama is hamstrung by predictability and heavy-handedness.
Based on R.J. Palacio's 2012 young adult bestseller, the New York City-set story follows whip-smart 10-year-old Auggie Pullman (Tremblay, under prosthetics), who was born with a facial deformity due to a genetic fluke. The kid's struggles in ways mirror the 1985 film "Mask."
Home-schooled by his loving mom, Isabel (Roberts), Auggie enters a mainstream academy. Fifth grade is hard on the family _ including caring dad Nate (Owen Wilson) and teenaged sister Via, short for Olivia (Izabela Vidovic), who loves her brother but resents living in his shadow.
My mother has "a great eye," Via observes. If only she'd use it "to look at me." The movie tends to hammer home what's already evident.
Too bad, since the idea of how we hide and reveal ourselves to the world is fertile terrain. And not just when it comes to Auggie, but several characters, including Via's ex-BFF Miranda (Danielle Rose Russell). Which is why the story's point of view changes.
But mostly "Wonder" ticks off a check list as it traces a big year: the underdog, the bully, the school play, the science fair, the misunderstanding, the reconciliation, the cheers. And, yes, some tears.
Kids may not notice or care, but the movie, which advocates kindness, comes with an irony. It's a film about embracing differences and seeing beyond appearances, but it rarely bucks convention or gets more than skin deep.
