Rating: 
Summary: We're in it !!!!
Review: My wife and I are in a scene when Michael Douglas and the rest of the cast come out of a conference when Toby McGuire is stoned. My wife is the good looking one. Other than our stellar appearance, the movie is okay....
Rating: 
Summary: Comedy
Review: Wonder Boys is one of those movies that you have to get used to. Maybe a second viewing is required for this one. People with little tesion spands will have a hard time dealing with all that is going on and believing me there is allot going on. But the preformances are really great especially from Tobey Maguire. And the film just gives you a sense of fun and a whole lot of quirkiness. The real thing about Wonder Boys that stands out is it's plots and its twists and turns and remember that all this occurs in one weekend. Yes I know a really wreked one at that too.
Rating:
Summary: Goofy but funny, in an intellectual way
Review: If you put all the oddballs together within a tight span of one weekends, Wonder Boys is the result. As readers have read from other reviews, the movie was about the main character, Tripp (Michael Douglas), a college professor who came out with a best-selling novel and now, he's onto his second one but the problem was that he couldn't see to finish it. Could it be mental block, or something else? His publisher, impressively played by Robert Downey Jr. was on the verge of losing his job & badly needed something good to kick start his career. Therefore, he came to town to see Tripp and along the way, he brought along his transvetite friend. Tripp happened to be fascinated with one of his students, Tobey McGuire's character who was tragically talented. Then, there's Katie Holmes, from Dawson Creeks who was in her second major pictures (after The Gift) as an infatuated student to Tripp who boarded at his place. After an accident shooting of a blind dog, Tripp, the publisher, the students' lives were all intertwined together in a hillarious roller coaster ride. Frances McDermott (of the Fargos) played Tripp's mistress who was pregnant with his child. What complicated the issue was France's character was already a married woman. Towards the end, Tripp finally saw clearly what he wanted in life and only then, everybody seemed to come together in their rightful places. Then, there's also Marilyn Monroe's jacket, Joe Dimaggio's baseball, an chicken-eyed Indian, a waitress and Tripp's rundown car....what did they have to do with the story? Believe me, you would want to know. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Michael Douglas Gains Weight And Smokes Pot
Review: You'd think that "L.A. Confidential" was a tough act to follow. But director Curtis Hanson takes it in stride with his follow-up, "Wonder Boys". An adaptation of Michael Chabon's novel that is pretty far removed from "Confidential", and yet, manages to be equally compelling and uniquely sedutive on its own.Much of it is probably owed to Michael Douglas. In a refined, carefully controlled performance the actor packs on some 30 pounds and looks totally dishevelled as a burned out college professor with a fondness for marihuana. Douglas' perfect portrayal completely carries the film. It is, in essence, a melancholic comedy. Hanson and the screenwriter use this mood to set-up some very interesting situations and present very unusual characters. The situations are aided by Dante Spinotti's captivating cinematography. And at some instances, things get so bizarre and madcap that you might think you're watching a Coen Brothers movie. Particularly in a very mean-spirited subplot involving the fate of a blind pit bull, and in a wildly amusing scene involving a car accident and Douglas' work in progress. I think of it as psychological slapstick comedy. The thinking man's pie-in-the-face. The story is riddled with stuff like this that borders on the absurd but is presented as matter-of-factly as possible. The whole thing with Douglas' female student played by Katie Holmes, for instance. He rents her a room in his house. She clearly has a deep crush on him. And the irony here is that in a strange way this ends up being a parody of the cinematic sexual escapades that Douglas is known for... In another movie, he might have succumbed to her seductions, but he plays a very different low-key character here. Holmes plays the part perfectly too. After seeing her give such assured performances in off-beat films like this, "The Ice Storm" and the underrated gem "Go", I find it hard to believe that "Dawson's Creek" is her day job. In some ways she's evry bit as daring and accomplished as her more "prestigious" contemporary Cristina Ricci. But the real choice stuff lies elsewhere. Downey Jr's extremely likable character is a delicious treat to watch. When he develops a crush on Maguire it's actually pretty endearing. I like the tasteful way that this movie handles the "love affair" between Downey and Maguire. Some other movie might have exploited it as a chance to be "daring" and "controversial." Here, the fact is treated with naturalistic ease. Seeing Maguire and Downey lying in bed together with their shirts off is not geared to raise eyebrows. It's a positive plot point about genuine affection, handled with warmth and jolly humor. And finally, an energetic subplot within a subplot involving a pregnant waittress named Oola (the underused beauty Jane Adams) and a neurotic James Brown lookalike named Vernon (hilariously played by Richard Knox) This entire block of the film feels like vintage Coen. With delightful off-center dialogues and moments of potentially lethal suspense handled with farcical sitcom glee. But, ultimately, the film gets by on its honest human emotions and it's the relationships that are at the heart of the film. The relationship between Douglas and Frances McDormand rings true, all the more aided by McDormand's heartfelt performance. And once Douglas begins to serve as a kind of father figure for Maguire it's even more moving. It could be that Maguire creates a character that projects vulnerability with intelligence. The film has many memorable moments with him at the center. I was eerily mesmerized in a scene where he alphabetically goes through a list of all the Hollywood movie stars that have committed suicide. There is a darkness there but at the same time, the scene has poignancy and it is the foreshadow to a touching scene involving Maguire's fascination with the coat Marilyn Monroe wore on her wedding day. Curtis Hanson has proven himself as a classy filmmaker. Gone are the days of plastic popcorn entertainment like "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle". With "L.A. Confidential" and now this, he has proven to be a meticulous and intelligent filmmaker that is very aware of the nuances of elegant cinematic storytelling and he knows how to work sensibly within the Hollywood system. It's rare to see a mainstream Hollywood film that isn't all that mainstream. "Wonder Boys" is a highly enjoyable and ultimately sober dramatic comedy with intelligence and truth... I even like the questionable fact that it boldly attempts to ultimately be an anti-drug parable. Hanson handles that point so subtly, that you wont feel as patronized as you should.
Rating:
Summary: One of the gems of 2000
Review: Wonder Boys, Curtis Hanson's sublime follow-up to his critically acclaimed LA Confidential, is a film that grows on you slowly. Douglas and his stellar supporting cast parade across the screen and what initially seems like a tad off-kilter drama builds into an involving, entertaining romp. From Douglas' drug-hazed professor to the "hood jumper" to Maguire's somber, odd, eager young pupil, Wonder Boys characters are some of the best to hit the screen since Soderbergh's magnificent "Out of Sight." Each character has a function and comes across as fully developed (save for possibly Katie Holmes). By the end of this film, this viewer was left hoping the credits would not roll and these fun, eccentric, coat-stealing, dog-killing, transvestite-loving characters would never leave the screen. Enough good things cannot be said about this quirky, fun, intelligent film. Ideally Wonder Boys will be remembered come Oscar time.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Performances, Uneven Movie
Review: In this great flawed film, Michael Douglas plays a has-been, pot-smoking writer and college professor who's marriage is on the rocks. With it's uneven serio-comic tone, and a seriously woozy pace at times, "Wonder Boys" isn't the most consistent work from director Curtis Hanson, and the meandering, somewhat self-help sounding screenplay by Steve Kloves, is of no great assistance, either. And yet, few modern films can boast such a tremendous cast of performers, including a very fine Frances MacDormand as a college administrator who's also Douglas' mistress, Katie Holmes as a lively and flirtatious student, and a neatly seductive Robert Downey, Jr., who plays Douglas' gay book editor. Then there's Michael Douglas, who exhibits remarkable depth and versatility, bringing out far more shades in this troubled professor's character then you might expect. It's a shame that some continue to dismiss this actor given their own inability to separate their misgivings about his "personal life" (whatever they think that might be) with his actual work on screen. He's not a flashy actor, you don't see "the work," and that's precisely what makes him so absorbing to watch. He's also the only Hollywood actor consistently willing to take risks by playing less then sympathetic characters, a few of which border on despicable. In "Wonder Boys," he finally has a role that encompasses a broad range of emotions and he runs with it.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment.
Review: Michael Douglas's Grady Tripp in *Wonder Boys* has a pile of troubles: 1) his wife decamped, 2) his mistress, the Chancellor of the small college where he teaches, is pregnant, 3) his literary agent is demanding to see his novel-in-progress called "The Arsonist's Daughter", which, at 2,000+ pages, is STILL unfinished, 4) a young attractive female student has a crush on him, 5) another of his students, a troubled young writer named James Leer, is having some sort of breakdown, 6) there's a dead dog in his trunk . . . on and on it goes. After a brilliant career as noir director, Curtis Hanson goes abruptly "lit'ry", and I can't say that the change is for the best. Taken from Michael Chabon's novel, *Wonder Boys* is lacking in the stuff that made Hanson's other films so good: namely, crime. So he makes do with what's available: there's a lot of pot-smoking; a touch of breaking-and-entering (combined with the pot-smoking); a bit of gun-play (hence the dead dog in the trunk of the car); even adultery. I don't know if it's the source material -- not having read the novel -- or Hanson's interpretation of it, but the events herein seem as if they're pumped for maximum slam-bang value. I mean, there's even, inexplicably, a transvestite on the premises. All of this is going on during some sort of literary convention taking place at the college called "WordFest". Having attended soirees like this, I can tell you first-hand that transvestites do not attend bookchat festivals, and for that matter, the attendees are far more prosaic than the loonies in this movie. All this might have rang more true if Hanson had toned things down, but, considering his past work which tells stories of people living on the edge, this might not have been possible. At least the superb supporting cast provides relief. Frances McDormand, Rip Torn, Tobey Maguire, and of course Robert Downey Jr. make the most of their opportunities. Unfortunately, the disappointment proves to be Michael Douglas. Physically, he seems to be channeling Sally Jesse Raphael. Acting-wise, it's all too clear that he is -- with great effort -- holding alter-ego Gordon Gekko firmly in check. It's a way of saying he's unconvincing as a slobby English professor who loves pot and Neil Young records. I've heard that the studio re-released this picture recently, doubtless for consideration at Oscar-time. Well, *Wonder Boys* disappeared without a trace last February, which should have given the studio heads a hint: it wasn't all that good. In December, it's STILL not all that good.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful performances in one of years best films.
Review: 'Wonder Boys' a term ocassionally used to describe first time, usually young authors who write great books and often have trouble duplicating the success, is a flawed film which completely won me over because of some perfectly realized moments, good ensemble acting and a stand-out Robert Downey Jr. performance. The film which was attrociously marketed as a cute Michael Douglas comedy,and just recently enjoyed a limited re-release with little notice. Pity, because it is one of the best films of the year. Female characters get short shrift in this essentially two character study about an over-the-hill anxiety ridden, pot smoking 50 year old College professor and a strange, almost withdrawn young student author. There are several true to life moments that are perfectly captured on film that utterly and completely won me over. The almost fairy-tale like ending, and some minor but annoying inacuracies are minor flaws the film easily overcomes. The film contains a couple of beautifully realized scenes which I will treasure for a long long time. There's also a very impressive soundtrack which is used quite admirably during the film. A Neil Young Classic punctuates a scene obviously but so perfectly, I wanted to just stand up and go... Yes, that's the way to do it. Michael Douglas, and Tobey Maguire are the leads, but Robert Downey Jr. as Douglas' (Grady's) Agent is superb in another go-for-broke, swing for the bleachers performance. It may be his best performance ever (and he's given some incredible ones in the past). The film is a laid back, casually-paced character study. It's not an action film or a dumb comedy but a film that takes its time and gets most of its details right. It's a film about inner conflicts, relationhships, self doubt and relationships that usually feels authentic and true. A few details seem maddeningly wrong, but they are minor and one of my nit-picks --regarding Grady-a professional writer single spacing his manuscript which is a real tabu of editors)--is actually how the writer of the novel and his wife have submitted material to editors in rea life supposedly without dire consequences. Hopefully you'll get the opportunity to view the film without knowing too much about the films minor twists and turns. It's easy to see why Curtis Hanson was attracted to this story about creative types questioning their abilities and confidence to continue in their chosen field. Hanson leap frogged from a reputation as a competent border-line hack director of such better than average thrillers as The Bedroom Window, Bad Influence ,The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and The River Wild into a first class skilled a-list director with 1997's L.A. Confidential. For his follow-up Hanson chose a quieter, more introspective and even riskier film; The Wonder Boys. It's far from perfect but I suspect it will easily make my 10 best of 2000. Chris Jarmick Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder --Available January 2001. Please consider ordering it today. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Probably better not to read the book first
Review: Well, this is a very enjoyable film, but when you get home you'll start picking holes in it. The biggest hole by far is Michael Douglas. Having read the book, to me he plays the character of Grady all wrong. He's too "Michael Douglas" for a start, overdoes the cute comedy act, looks just too unappealing for us to believe that the Chancellor could be interested in him. And there are clumsy moments, like when the book falls out of the car, and scenes that are electrifying in the novel and thrown away in the film. They even missed out one of the best sequences... Robert Downey Jr is excellent though, and the interplay between him and the James Leer character is very well done. And the Pittsburgh backdrop is atmospheric and a bit different. Just about worth it.
Rating:
Summary: superb film yet it lacks something
Review: THe film was very enjoyable to watch. The cast were outstanding especially doughlas and downey jr and was directed with pure excellence. Yet the plot does contain quite a few holes, leaving questions to be asked at the end of the film. It will not be for everybodys taste but if you apreciate true film-making and great acting then do watch this.Butin terms of buying it,i wouldn.t as its not the type of film you watch over and over.
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