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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Wonder Boys is one of those movies in which more twists and turns disrupt the life of the hero in one weekend than would bother most of us our whole lives. Professor Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) is an aging one-novel wunderkind at a small Pittsburgh college who's laboring on his seven-years-in-the-making, 2000-plus page second opus with no end in sight. The morning of the college's literary lollapalooza, WordFest, Grady's wife leaves him; that evening, his mistress (Frances McDormand) announces she's pregnant (she's also the chancellor of the school, as well as the wife of Grady's boss). Grady's voracious editor (Robert Downey Jr.) is also in town, transvestite date in tow, determined to read the highly anticipated new book; there's also the nubile student (Katie Holmes), who seems more than willing to ease Grady's pain. And then there's James Leer (Tobey Maguire), the mordant and brilliant writing student who's the catalyst for Grady's lost weekend, which involves a soon-to-be-dead blind dog, a stolen car, and the jacket that Marilyn Monroe wore when she wed Joe DiMaggio.
Had enough flights of fancy? It's only the beginning, and in the hands of director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) and screenwriter Steve Kloves (The Fabulous Baker Boys), Wonder Boys will have you begging for more. Adroitly adapting Michael Chabon's novel and distilling it to its droll, melancholy essence, Kloves and Hanson have fashioned a briskly unsentimental and darkly funny tale; these characters may be down on their luck, but they sure don't feel sorry for themselves. Douglas, by turns dryly sarcastic and sincerely heartfelt, single-handedly makes up for years of alpha-male posturing as the passive pothead Tripp, and whoever thought of pairing him with the resilient McDormand is brilliant--they convey the complexities and history of their relationship in a single glance or movement. And under Hanson's guidance, the rest of the cast is truly exceptional, with Maguire in a breakthrough performance and Downey at his manic best. The ending of Wonder Boys may feel a little too pat, but after everything these characters have been through, a happy ending seems a just reward. --Mark Englehart
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Wonder Boys
This is one of my favorite movies. These are the best characters I've ever seen Michael Douglas and Toby Maguire play. It's a little dreary but hilarious. Excellent characters and good cinematography.
Rating: - Great movie. Pleasant surprise.
I thought I'd seen some quirky comedies, but this one has become my favorite of them all. Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand and Robert Downey Jr. are at their quirkiest in this goofy tale about a group of writers (no need to elaborate, as other reviewers have already covered the story). I've never been a fan of Katie Holmes; only because of her limited acting range (compared to the other cast members).
It makes you wonder if there really are strange people out there like ... Read More
Rating: - Great Performances By All
"Wonder Boys" is a sweetly-serious "dramedy" about Grady, a middle-aged academic and author (Michael Douglas), whose life has settled into a rut. He suffers a series of life crises over the course of one long weekend, as well as coping with several outside crises that seem to fall into his lap. These include his wife leaving him; his girlfriend announcing she's pregnant; his pretty grad student hitting on him; his NYC book editor turning up to see his seven-years-in-the-making next novel; and a possibly ... Read More
Rating: - Excellent movie.......
I loved this movie! It was hilarious with an amazing cast!
The movie has been out for awhile, but I never got around to watching it. I found out the movie was based off the book, "Wonder Boys" by Michael Chabon, so I had to check it out.
The cast includes Michael Douglas, Robert Downey Jr., Tobey Maguire, Katie Holmes and Frances McDormand! According to Amazon it also stars Philip Bosco ??, his role is about 20 seconds, if youve ever even heard of the guy!
The story was ... Read More
Rating: - Wonderful "Wonder Boys"
"Wonder Boys" isn't quite a masterwork like Curtis Hanson's previous film, "L.A. Confidential," but it's excellent in its own way.
The humor in the film is subtle, but there are several guffaws to be had. The film follows a college English professor played by Michael Douglas during the weekend of Wordfest, a literary celebration that brings out a best-selling author (Rip Torn) whose prolific success only makes Douglas, who wrote one best-seller seven years earlier, feel like a failure. His marriage ... Read More
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