Rating: 
Summary: DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT TAKING THIS TRIPP
Review: I RENTED WONDER BOYS AS PART OF OUR FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES WITH SOME ANTICIPATION AS I HAD HEARD THAT IT WAS AMUSING AND FEATURED A TOUR DE FORCE PERFORMANCE BY MICHAEL DOUGLAS.NEITHER ASSUMPTION PROVED TO BE TRUE. I THINK THAT A MOVIE MUST HAVE SOME CHARACTER THAT THE AUDIENCE CARES ABOUT AND OR IDENTIFIES WITH.THIS MOVIE HAD NEITHER.THE SITUATIONS WERE INPROBABLE,RIDICULOUS ,AND JUST PLAIN NOT FUNNY.DOUGLAS'S PERFORMANCE WAS ONE DIMENSIONAL AT BEST,AND HIS RADICAL CHANGE AT THE END DEFIED CREDULITY.THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR THE OTHER PERFORMERS.ESPECIALLY DISAPPOINTING WAS TOBEY MCGUIRE WHO AT BEST COULD BE DESCRIBED AS COMATOSE.WHAT WERE THEY THINKING.19 MILLION IS TOO MUCH FOR THIS MOVIE .IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOTALLY IGNORED.AS MY WIFE SAID,"IT IS THE WORST MOVIE I EVER WATCHED TO THE END".SPARE YOURSELF DON'T WATCH.
Rating: 
Summary: Should've been nominated for Best Picture, Director
Review: This movie just gets it right. A witty and touching script, and amazing performances all around (especially Robert Downey Jr., who steals every scene he's in). Curtis Hanson has now made 2 of my all-time favorite films (L.A. Confidential being the other). And, as he did with Los Angeles, he demonstrates a genuine affection for the film's setting that comes through in every scene - Pittsburgh has never looked so good! The leisurely pacing, quiet tone, and beautiful cinematography all perfectly capture the sleepy and insulated atmosphere of academic life. Great music by Bob Dylan and others adds to the melancholy yet hopeful mood of the film. Pop in this DVD, dim the lights, and sit back and enjoy a truly unique movie experience.
Rating: 
Summary: The Wonder Boys
Review: There are enough quirky characters and situations in this movie to keep the viewer smiling all the way through. Michael Douglas plays a college professor who has had one successful novel and is working to finish his second one, a gargantuan effort that never seems to end. His wife has left him, his lover is pregnant, the young girl who rents a room in his house is pursuing him, and his agent is pressing him to finish his novel. In the middle of all this a slightly bemused Douglas smokes pot and tries to figure out a direction for his life. He mentors one of his highly talented students who effortlessly writes his novels in a week or so. They manage to shoot the chancellor's husband's dog and have to dodge a man who accuses Douglas of stealing his car. The plot really defies description but the absurdity of it all makes sense through the skillful acting of Douglas, Tobey Maguire and Robert Downey, Jr. This is not your usual film but it is amusing and entertaining nevertheless.
Rating:
Summary: Dark but intelligent comedy
Review: "Wonder Boys" is a dark and intelligent comedy about choices. Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) is a college professor who is the constant victim of the circumstances of his own life. On the day we meet him, his wife has left him and the chancellor of the college (Frances McDormand) with whom he has been having an affair tells him that she is pregnant. Add to that the fact that his star student has killed the chancellor's dog, and that his editor is in town to talk to him about the book he hasn't finished, and Grady is suddenly awash in crises that require pivotal decisions. Unfortunately, deciding is not his forte.The humor in Steven Kloves ("The Fabulous Baker Boys") screenplay is more that of dire irony rather than the whimsical inanity that characterizes most film comedies. As such, the film didn't have much mass appeal, garnering a meager $19 million at the box office despite a very bankable cast. Nevertheless, this excellent screenplay merited a Best Screenplay nomination from the Academy, and it is full of thoughtful dialogue and wry humor. Michael Douglas is terrific as the overwrought college professor. Douglas shows a great deal of versatility here; playing an offbeat and tortured character that is unlike any he has played before. Tobey Maguire ("Pleasantville", "The Cider House Rules") turns in another fine performance expanding his boundaries with a much heavier and complex role. He gives the character a moody depth that is both devious and impassive while maintaining a certain insecure naiveté. Frances McDormand, as usual, delivers a strong supporting performance as the chancellor at a crossroad. Robert Downey, Jr. is also fantastic as the quirky literary agent, adding a touch of absurdity to the otherwise dour script. Bob Dillon won an Oscar and a Golden Globe award for Best Song, and deservingly so. This is a strong film that will appeal to a limited audience. I rated it an 8/10. It is a thought provoking and somber character study that is well worth the time for the serious viewer.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent Comedy
Review: "Wonder Boys" is a perfect example of how you do not have to embarass yourself to make a funny movie. Where most comic films today go for shock and other low brow means to garner laughs, "Wonder Boys" takes you by surprise. Which is how comedy truly works. Michael Douglas is wonderful as Grady Tripp. A former best selling novelist, now working as a creative writing professor in the Northeast. Like most successful first time novelists, Tripp, hasn't been able to duplicate his success. He instead finds himself doubting his abilities and not able to follow through on his current project. Not helping matters is his taboo relationship with his bosses wife, played with quiet intensity by Frances McDormand, who informs Tripp, she is pregnant. Tripp's weekend is further complicated by the arrival of his editor played by Robert Downey Jr, in one of his best performances. Downey's character is desperate to get his hands on Tripp's still unfinished manuscript. To keep both Douglas and Downey busy is the arrival of James Leer (Tobey Maguire). One of Tripp's students, who is slightly off kilter. Leer sets the wheels in motion when he "takes care of" Tripp's bosses dog, and commandeers a very special item of his as well. To continue with plot points would be to risk giving away too much of a great film, which demands attention. Don't get up to leave at any point unless you pause this movie. It rarely backtracks, and in that way keeps the story moving and fresh. All the performances are spectacular, especially Katie Holmes, who will not be one of our great young film actresses until she can manage away from "The Creek." However, after performances like this, Go, and The Gift she is headed in the right direction. Excellently written by Steve Kloves and Directed by Curtis Hanson, "Wonder Boys" is a special treat for filmgoers, a very funny film about the writing profession, which too many people take for granted.
Rating:
Summary: Another Curtis Hanson winner
Review: I loved this movie from the first scene. I guess I just find the humor in Grady's low key approach of dealing with his wife leaving him, his writing career in jeopardy, a troubled student killing the chancellor's dog, this along with many more problems lead to a very interesting weekend in the life of Grady Tripp. Not only is Grady forced into dealing with life for the first time in many years but he is driven to make some life altering choices. The cast is terrific with each character playing wonderfully off the other. Hanson's work as a director requires multiple viewings to catch and appreciate what an effort he has put into the film. If you get a chance the DVD has a wonderful loaction map of Pittsburgh with Hanson explaining a lot of the loaction where the movie takes place. while the movie is sort of a darker comedy I highly recommend at least a rental viewing of this highly over looked gem of a movie.
Rating:
Summary: Wonder Boys is an intelligent and humorous night in
Review: Wonder Boys Score: 83/100 Gracious! Is that Michael Douglas, playing a pothead, with crinkly skin and oldie-oldie hair? Yes, it is, and he is a star in this film. He's not the only star of the film, though; Curtis Hanson's second film may not reach the standards of L.A. Confidential, but it surely the best college film in a long time, and is work of a high standard. Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) is a professor/writer living in Pittsburgh who is struggling with writer's block. Whilst doing this, he also manages to get the chancellor (Frances McDormand) pregnant. In the meantime, he and a college student, James Leer (Tobey Maguire) are trying to find a rare jacket once owned by Marilyn Monroe, and a college girl, Hannah Green (Katie Holmes) boarding with Grady has a bit of a crush on him. My expectations were a little high of Wonder Boys. I expected it to maybe earn over a score of 90, since Curtis Hanson went absolutely genius with the material given to him in L.A. Confidential. Even thought it didn't earn that high, the film is still a great piece of entertainment, one of the most plausible adult comedies of 2000. Michael Douglas is, as I said, a star. He deserved two Oscar nominations for this and Traffic, but hey, how dumb is the Academy? Douglas deserves some kind of award for absolutely ensemble performance. Tobey Maguire and Katie Holmes are good too - except Holmes is slightly underused - and both will provide plenty of laughs and body for teen and young adult audiences. Curtis Hanson is laid-back in this film, he knows exactly what he's doing, and does it like a master. The film comes and goes, it leaves us with not a fast enough pace sometimes. But with such cleverness and some flashy brilliant script writing, you won't have the time to notice. A drama that makes you laugh, and a comedy that keeps itself mature and serious. What more do serious moviegoer's want these days?
Rating:
Summary: Offbeat ecletic mix of comedy and pathos
Review: Adapted from the novel by Michael Chabon, this offbeat dark comedic drama is set at a college in Pittsburgh, a shabby city of bleak weather and aging buildings. Michael Douglas is cast in the role of Grady Tripp, a college professor long past his prime who lives in haze of marijuana and failing marriages. He's gained weight for this role and his face is lined and drooping, capturing the essence of the character so well that he was able to submerge his movie star image. Tripp is a former "wonder boy" who had been acclaimed for his first novel seven years before. Unfortunately, even though he has written more than 2000 pages on his second novel, he can't seem to bring it to completion even though his New York agent, Terry Crabtree, played by Robert Downey Jr. will be in town for the writer's weekend set up at the college. Tobey Maguire, the rising young actor who made a name for himself in "The Cedar House Rules" is cast as James Leer, a brilliant and troubled young writer from Tripp's class. And Frances McDormand is cast as the Chancellor of the college who's having an affair with Trip. Katie Holmes plays a student who is interested in Tripp for more than his teaching ability. Other characters fade in and out of the scenes, adding interest and contributing to an eclectic mix and which somehow all add to the cohesive whole. There's a transvestite as well as a professor affixed on Marilyn Monroe as well as a black man in a pompadour hairdo and his waitress wife. And, in addition to the people, there's a vintage car and an old manual typewriter and an electric selectric. There's also a dead dog. All this is put together in a mix that gently pokes fun at it all, played for pathos and humanity instead of slapstick. And it is all slightly off focus in the marijuana haze created by the professor. I did find it a bit slow and I sometimes dozed off. But the beauty of video is that could wake up and replay the few frames I missed. I was always rewarded because of the subtleties of dialog and nuances of the acting and of the fine direction by Curtis Hanson, whose last film was L.A. Confidential. I recommend this video although it is not for everyone. It's quirky and offbeat and the pace is slow and hazy. But I personally thought it was really good.
Rating: 
Summary: Douglas' best performance to date.
Review: After seeing this one a second time, I've got to go against my initial review (which was pretty bad). It's just not the kind of film that will appeal to everyone. Michael Douglas does a nice bit of acting as the conflicted writer who discovers a prodigy, loses a wife, resists a beautiful student, hides a body, and steals Marylin Monroe's jacket - all in one long, wild night. Brainy and chic, it's worth seeing at least for his performance.
Rating: 
Summary: bad
Review: This was a bad film. It's clear why the film didn't receive more notice from the Academy Awards. All it has going for it is a talented cast, and the ridiculous script irritates much more than entertains. The characters motivations are always questionable, although Michael Douglas is consistently likable. All in all, I think you'll find this movie is not as good as you thought it would be.
|
