just watch it!

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Wonder Boys (2000): Dir: Curtis Hanson / Cast: Michael Douglas, Tobey Mcguire, Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, Robert Downey Jr.: Intelligent comedy about brilliant individuals overwhelmed with dread. Michael Douglas plays a professor with writer's block. Tobey Maguire plays a burned out student whom Douglas allows vacancy until his parents are located. Interesting concept that contains a couple unnecessary subplots involving a stolen Marilyn Monroe jacket or the dead dog. Directed by Curtis Hanson as an excellent followup to his masterpiece L.A. Confidential. Douglas struggles with work and commitment as he cannot seem to finish his novel yet distracted by infidelity and his social surroundings. Maguire is superb as a student caught up in theft and drugs but through the care of others, finds redemption. Frances McDormand plays Douglas's infidelity partner whom is pregnant. One wonders whether her final decision is the right one. Katie Holmes plays a student with an obvious attraction to Douglas but fortunately doesn't act upon it. Robert Downey Jr steals moments as Douglas's editor but he is more or less curious as to whether anything is worth publishing. Grand scale screenplay full of detail about inner brilliance within unlawful nature. It shows just what a mess life can become before being torn in all directions like the pages of his new book scattering through the air and into the unknown. Score: 9 / 10

There were great expectations for 'Wonder Boys'. You can even hear Michael Douglas say on the DVD extras that this was an opportunity to play a more substantial part, much different from what he terms "prince of darkness" roles he had recently been known for. Nonetheless, here was a film that was released a SECOND time, after it initially bombed at the box office (the second release, by the way, fared no better). Perhaps the biggest reason for 'Wonder Boys' failure, was the source material: the novel of the same name, written by the young wunderkind, Michael Chabon. Michiko Kakutani perhaps said it best, describing the novel in her 1995 NY Times review, as "silly and verging on camp." Although I disagree with her assessment that the film had a "split personality," with the story being also "touching and melancholy."Screenwriter Steve Kloves' faithfully adapts Chabon's story and retains the same sorry schematics: in a nutshell, the protagonist, Professor Grady Tripp, has no significant antagonist to play off of. This might work better in a novel, where the characters' internal arc is highlighted, but in a full-length feature film, it's deadly. Tripp is basically the pot-smoking loser who can't replicate his earlier literary success and also can't decide whether he wants to commit to the University Chancellor, Sara Gaskell, now pregnant with his child. Gaskell is married to Tripp's boss, Walter, chairman of the English Department.Peripheral characters seem to drift in and out of view during the film with little or no identifiable purpose including a young Katie Holmes as Hannah Green, both Tripp's student and boarder as well as Tripp's literary agent, Terry Crabtree (played by a younger Robert Downey Jr.), whose career is also falling apart (mainly due to Tripp's inability to come up with a new novel).The bulk of 'Wonder Boys' concerns Tripp's relationship with the dissolute James Leer (a very, very young Tobey Maguire), one of Tripp's students who aspires to be a writer. A singular event ruins the entire movie when Leer shoots Walter's dog and the bumbling Tripp places the carcass in the trunk of his car for most of the rest of the film. Somehow, Chabon and Kloves believes that the shooting of the poor pooch is supposed to be funny. My theory is that talk about this most unpleasant event got around and accounted for the very poor response at the box office. Clue for future film scenarists: don't allow one of your main characters to kill a dog, if you want people to like your movie!!!The rest of the machinations in the film are only briefly worth mentioning. Suffice it to say that after Leer shoots the Gaskell's pet, he also makes off with the Chairman's precious Marilyn Monroe memorabilia. At a certain point, Terry ends up in bed with James and then Tripp's car turns out to be stolen and is repossessed by its rightful owner (a crazy black dude who resembles a cross between James Brown and Little Richard). The repulsive Leer is saved after Tripp makes a deal with Walter, arranging for Terry to publish his book, described as a "critical exploration of the union of Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe and its function in American mythopoetics", tentatively titled The Last American Marriage." The dig at academia could have been developed quite a bit more, but the scenarists here fail to go in that direction. And as for Tripp, the loss of his manuscript signals the shattering of all of his illusions.Tripp's ultimate fate is indicative of Chabon's (and Kloves') failure to do anything creative with their protagonist. Tripp, the perennial procrastinator, finally decides to make the obvious commitment (which we can see a mile away from the very beginning), where he decides to shack up with Sara and play the responsible role of the good father (a significantly SENTIMENTAL ending for a film billed as some sort of black comedy).Granted, Michael Douglas does the best he can in a role where his character simply doesn't develop. At least (as he says), this time he's not playing the "prince of darkness." The rest of the cast also do the best they can with the limited material but the chief highlight here is merely seeing how notable actors (Downey, Maguire, Holmes and McDormand) looked as their pre-9/11 selves.'Wonder Boys' truly has little to say about human nature since its quirky characters are distantly related to how real people think and feel. Most disappointing is the film's campy humor, which sometimes veers into excessively unpleasant terrain (yes, I'll bring up the dead dog one more time!). Remember that many films with an 'indie' appellation, do not necessarily come close to 'art', despite assorted critics' claims to the contrary.

This 2000 Curtis Hanson film was the second best he made after L.A. Confidential and together with Bedroom Window. It is a story of two people of completely different background, a middle aged writing professor and his student and protégé. The professor, played by Michael Douglas in one of his strongest roles, is going thru a crisis and drinks a lot, after his younger wife has left him. He is also having problems finishing his second book. The young and bright but troubled protégé is played by Tobey Maguire. Then there is also Douglas' eccentric and flamboyant editor and friend played by the excellent Robert Downey Jr. A guy who is a swinger and according to Douglas "is gay, or thinks he is". Katie Holmes also appears as another of Douglas' students who is smitten with him but he rejects her advances.There are also a few really amusing side characters, such as the man Douglas and Downey Jr. dub VERNON HARDAPPLE, who gives the movie a comical edge. The whole movie is somewhat of a dark comedy really, with scenes like the one where Maguire kills a dog who attacked Douglas and Douglas has to keep his body in the trunk of his car for a week or at the end where the manuscript for his latest book flies away. When he's asked by Downey Jr if he has a copy, he replies "I have an alternative ending of the second chapter". This is what is so enjoyable with this movie: not only is it a character study drama but also a humorous oddball comedy with some exciting plot twists. In the end the roles are almost switched as Douglas the mentor starts to learn from Maguire the protégé and discovers that he has talent. This also helps him revitalize his own talent and get his life back on track. Frances McDormand also appears as Douglas' love interest who is also the chancellor of the university where he works and is pregnant with his child. Really enjoyable and trippy film, a semi-classic. Hanson once again hit bullseye with this.

If you are looking for the next action adventure film, this is not your film. If you are looking for the next box office smash or a classic of film making, this is not your film. However, if you are the kind of person who loves a good story, some exceptional acting, and few good puns and jokes thrown in to relieve the tension, this is your film. Michael Douglas portrays his role with a combination of ambivalence and passion that bring a depth the audience can relate to. Frances McDormand gives a strong performance as the woman with a career on the line and an unhappy marriage. Toby Maquire plays a very different role as the confused but talented student and writer who is uncertain about his role in life. Robert Downey Jr. is excellent as the agent trying desperately to find that next big book that will put him back in the limelight. And Katie Holmes is perfect in the role of the sultry, not too sexy, not too forward, but available co-ed who wants to get into the professor's bed. The sex in the film is implied, not explicit, but the drug use and language earned the film an R rating, so you might want to make sure the kids are in the rooms before turning this one on. Not particularly collectible, but a wake up call for people who have fallen into a rut.