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Wonder Boys
Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years—not since he wrote his award winning 'Great American Novel' 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he finds himself reeling from one misadventure to another in the company of a new wonder boy author.
Release : | 2000 |
Rating : | 7.2 |
Studio : | Paramount, Scott Rudin Productions, TOHO-TOWA, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Production Design, |
Cast : | Michael Douglas Tobey Maguire Frances McDormand Robert Downey Jr. Katie Holmes |
Genre : | Drama Comedy |
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Simply A Masterpiece
Memorable, crazy movie
Good movie but grossly overrated
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
I rather take it like this : last evening, i came back from work, slipped on the pavement and sprained badly one ankle ! In pain to walk and having to rest, i watched this movie as it was the scheduled one and it was very funny to see for a 1st time, a character having the same health problems than me : here, Michael Douglas is badly bitten by a dog so he limped all the movie ! In addition, he plays a great compassionate, helpful guy who lost his way due to bad habits and get stuck in a dangerous dead end ! And that's probably where i'm actually too. So this was really a great time watching it all the more than the cast is really prestigious : Tobey as the lost student, Katie Holmes as the straight one, Frances as the usual serious and romantic as well wife, and Downey Jr as the usual careless, cool buddy. As the movie happens at winter in Pittsburgh, the locations are beautiful and the story is full of turns, surprises and stress to keep going. However, the movie has a big flaw : the gay context ! Chabon already did a whole movie about this and here to have Downey seducing Tobey is really disappointing and in my opinion totally useless : I'm not homophobic but today cinema plays much too more this card as if being gay or bisexual is a necessary ingredient for whatever the movie is about ! In a way, as a straight guy i feel oppressed the same way i'm with the need for any action movie to solve problems with a gun and with killing the bad guys ! I don't like this message so that's why i give « 4 » and not « 7 » !
Mostly ignored upon release and subsequently forgotten, this gem from 2000 is my favorite work from Curtis Hanson, who was deciding between directing this film and what was to be the Brett Ratner/Nic Cage film The Family Man. Good choice Mr. Hanson. The film was poorly marketed in the US and given a terrible release date in February and tanked, but psychotic producer Scott Rudin used his muscle to get the film re-released at the end of the year for Oscar consideration. It picked up a few nominations, but tanked again in the box office. This a is such a nice, warm and beautiful film that I find it puzzling that it also received a C cinemascore from audiences. That's a toxic exit poll and a death blow for word of mouth. There really isn't a moment in the film that feels false or out of place. It's constructed with such care and so beautifully shot by Dante Spinotti. Michael Douglas does his best work here and the man is in almost every frame of the film and he carries it like a pro. There isn't a false note in his performance and Grady Tripp is an unforgettable character. It's a simple film that takes place over a few days about characters going through complicated times in their lives and it never falls into sentiment or is condescending to the audience. It's almost perfect and it's very funny.
Wonder Boys is a unique comedy that lets you see what the characters are going through. The movie presents itself a pleasant and strange characters and see what is about to occur in every little bit. Wonder Boys achieves to be both a delightful character study and also a stunning success directed into a nice joint piece. It is fairly uplifting to see characters cooperate, contrast,connect, laugh, and mostly do things that appear in full honesty. While it's not a flawless movie, Wonder Boys is applauded for its sharp and smart script and bountiful of great acting. Grady is having a bumpy day. His wife left him, his girlfriend is pregnant, he has an attractive looking student whom rents a room from him, and his editor shows up at his city with a transvestite, and one of his students shows up at a party with a gun. As the viewers, we're in for one hell of entertaining ride.When a flick like Wonder Boys works in nearly all sizes, the greatest attention is rewarded to the actors and actresses. Michael Douglas was pleasant to watch in this movie. Frances McDormand modestly glosses. Katie Holmes was all-out excellent in her character. She's relaxed and smart, and a harsh one as well. As continuously, Robert Downey Jr. is funny and hazardous. He accepts much jeopardy as an actor. The one who mounted out the most for me is Tobey Maguire, smart, shy, weird, and funny was the type of character he played. The kind of guy you stay away from if you were to encounter one in school.Wonder Boys prepares what any upright film would do: It provides characters to like and a script that expresses a charming story.
I was the assistant manager of a Crown Book store when "Wonder Boys" was in the theater. Before then, I had never read any Michael Chabon books or really had even heard of him (which is surprising since I was a book store manager). My manager knew that I was gay and he recommended the film to me because of the gay characters. It seems funny in retrospect because I generally get offended when someone assumes I will like something just because there are some gay overtones or characters in it.I saw "Wonder Boys" in the perfect setting. It was an afternoon showing in January, in an empty theater on a cold and snowy day. I had no idea what to expect but absolutely loved the movie. All of the actors were phenomenal. The story was great and involving. I fell in love with the soundtrack.The only thing that confused me is that it made no sense to me that the movie was called "Wonder Boys." It was only upon reading the Michael Chabon novel that it was revealed that the 2000 plus page book Grady was writing was titled "Wonder Boys," as it was about several siblings with the surname of Wonder.I watch this great movie several times a year. The movie alone is worth watching for the great scenes with Vernon Hardapple. "Quit calling me Vernon!" The best thing this movie did, though, was connect me to the books of Michael Chabon. Though "Wonder Boys" the novel is extremely different than "Wonder Boys" the movie, they stand together as my favorite movie and book. I recommend both.