WONDER BOYS RATING: 8 /10 --> Great movie
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I was suspicious about this film's rave reviews before going to see because it centered mostly around a writer going through a rough period of his life, and imagined that most critics' love for the film stemmed from their inevitable ability to relate with the protagonist, rather than the film's actual merits as a good ol' fashioned dose of entertainment for Joe Q. Public. Well, I'm happy to report that my suspicions were mostly unfounded and that, as a writer, I was able to relate stronger to the main character, but more importantly, as a movie watcher, the film was wholly entertaining and consistently gratifying.
PLOT: A teacher whose career as a writer peaked with one successful novel suddenly falls upon a couple of extremely unlucky days. First, his wife leaves him. Then, his mistress tells him that she's pregnant. And to top all that off, his eccentric editor comes to town looking for his latest novel, a book which he seems to have been working on forever. All the while, the man also has to deal with a brooding, young student of his who's loaded with potential but very difficult to get a handle on.
CRITIQUE: Inspirational. It's been quite some time that a movie was actually able to make me feel refreshed after a viewing, or simply nudge me into revisiting my own life under a different source of light, but this movie did just that. A great film featuring some notable performances all around, an excellent script which manages to simultaneously entertain and motivate those who fear that their best days are far behind them and enough interesting characters, plot twists and surprisingly, laughs, to gently embrace any willing audience member. I'll be honest and tell you that I was barely intrigued by this film's trailer, and basically just expected to be bored with the life and times of a hack writer currently undergoing a mid-life crisis, but boy, was I ever wrong! This movie didn't bore me for one second, in fact, it only took a few minutes for it to wrap me entirely within its cozy shell of wintertime and real-life characters. Their problems seemed genuine, their reactions all engaging, their emotions running deep and leading to more questions, a wonderful film to decipher and enjoy.
But besides its inspirational undertow, which drew fuel from the sparkplug talent of a younger writer opening the eyes of an older, worn man, it was this film's natural sense of irony and consistent humor that made me love it so much more. Excellent performances from Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire also helped elevate this movie to its superior level, as well as the solid supporting cast led by the always strange Robert Downey Jr. (whose career seems to have taken off ever since he went to jail), Katie Holmes and Frances McDormand. Easily one of Michael's least stock and sincerely layered performances in years. Of course, it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that the director of the film is also to be given a lot of credit for having the capacity to bring this interesting small tale to the big screen, elevating the level of his cast's talent and giving the film an absorbing feel and satisfying finale. Please don't go see this movie expecting to be bombarded by inspiration, because this film is more likely to invigorate if you enjoy watching good movies about intriguing, real people with various vices, simply trying to live through their difficult moments with a general sense of aloofness and determination.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: This film includes the last role that Robert Downey Jr. played before returning to jail on drug charges. Robert claims that it was his father who introduced him to the arena of drugs, when he offered him a marijuana joint at the age of 8. Good parenting, ol' chap! Tobey Maguire's first big-screen role was in 1993's drama THIS BOY'S LIFE starring his present-day buddy Leonardo DiCaprio. Tobey began acting only after his mother offered him $100 in high school for him to take drama instead of home ec. The rest as they say...is history. Tobey has acted with Katie Holmes before in the 1997 drama ICE STORM (6/10). Did you all know that director Curtis Hanson, who now commands respect after his Oscar-nominated and critically acclaimed film L.A. CONFIDENTIAL used to direct shlocky thrillers? His reign before L.A. CONFIDENTIAL included THE RIVER WILD, THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, BAD INFLUENCE and THE BEDROOM WINDOW. Actress Frances McDormand is married to writer/director Joel Coen, of "Coen Brothers" fame. This movie is based on a book of the same name by Michael Chabon. The novel was transformed to script by Steve Kloves, a director in his own right. Steve has directed movies on his own, including the Michelle Pfeiffer-starring THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS back in 1989, and 1993's FLESH AND BONE starring Meg Ryan.
Review Date: February 27, 2000 Director: Curtis Hanson Writer: Steve Kloves Producers: Curtis Hanson and Scott Rudin Actors: Michael Douglas as Grady Tripp Tobey Maguire as James Leer Frances McDormand as Sara Gaskell Robert Downey Jr. as Terry Crabtree Genre: Dramedy Year of Release: 2000 ------------------------------------- JoBlo's Movie Emporium http://www.joblo.com/ ------------------------------------- (c) 2000 Berge Garabedian
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