Looking through my reviews, especially the film ones, I realised that I haven’t been very good. All my movie opinions have either been about ditzy romantic comedies, mediocre thrillers or the occasional action flick. So I went out and grabbed the first artsy film I could find, and that happened to be this Wonder Boys a film that I have always wanted to see, but have never gotten around to it.
It will be quite hard for me to write the plot, really because it’s the kind of film, where one thing directly affects another, so if I tell you one thing, you’ll be able to work out the whole plot, so I will just give a brief summary. Plus I would like to read you comments, as to whether a short plot description with a lot of information on acting and design is better, or the other way around.
Seven years ago Grady Tripp wrote a book named The Arsonist’s Daughter, which became that years surprise hit, both financially and critically. But seven years later Grady is still working on his follow up novel, which started of as a three hundred and twenty page short but is have now spiralled into two thousand page tomb. Today is not Grady’s day, his much younger wife has just left him, one of his more troubled students James Leer (he is also an English professor) is sinking deeper and deeper into depression and his lover has just announced that she is pregnant. Along with the troubled James, another student of his is Hannah Green a sexy youth, who’s soul purpose in life seems to be to shamelessly flirt with Professor Tripp.
To add to Grady’s problems, his editor, Terry Crabtree, is coming to check up on the books progress, but that’s nothing, when Terry brings Miss Antoine an obvious transvestite the fun really begins!
So a dead dog, a whole lot of marijuana, a lifeless manuscript and a soulless existence later and Grady still hasn’t found his role in life!
This is defiantly the best performance I have seen Michael Douglas do. As Grady Tripp he shines with wry intelligence, his character is so well formed, that it was always going to be a great performance, but Michaels performance
is sharply realised and Michael accurately portrays his character, which isn’t always likeable, but always interesting and witty. This is a big shift in tone for Michael and he truly proves that he can act, and not only act but do it very, very well. I can’t believe how well he embodied the character; I was really shocked as I don’t usually like him.
Robert Downey Jnr is someone that I have always had my reservations about. I enjoyed his character in the hilarious Ally McBeal, but have seen him in roles that I really don’t like. I am pleased to say though, that he is fantastic in this. He shows off some true talent, as he takes what is on the script and turns his character into so much more than first written. Downey Jnr adds his own, unique wit to the role, which makes it a deliciously humorous performance. Absolutely brilliant, like Douglas.
I have to admit, that I hate both of the Spider-Man movies, and I usually label Tobey Maguire as being void of talent, but again, I have had to eat my words. As James, the tortured soul, he puts in a perfectly understated performance, with a lot of intelligence shining through. I again am surprised how much talent Tobey demonstrates as this is undoubtedly a very hard role to pull off. His thoughtful performance is both powerful and wildly entertaining. Although Katie Holmes character is only there to be eye candy, she is that and defiantly more, as the extremely flirtatious Hannah. She is so cute and instantly likeable that she lights up the screen whenever she comes on it. Not a fabulous performance, as she isn’t given nearly enough to do, but still an enjoyable one.
Frances McDourmand is also extremely good as Sara Gaskell. Grady’s secret flame, she play’s Sara with good humour, intrigue and sex appeal. She is defiantly comfortable in front of the camera and is always funny.
As you can see, the acting in Wonder Boys is I thought impeccable. Michael Douglas puts in a refreshing change of role. Robert Downey Jnr and Tobey McGuire both surprised me with their acting talents and I always like to see Katie Holmes, and now she has a great diversity, as she has done, action, romance, thriller and thoughtful comedy. I look forward to seeing her in the new Batman film.
Grady Tripp as a character is brilliant the script allows him to be intelligent, but not so much that he never makes mistakes. He is an oddly relatable character, as he wants to finish his book, but all these distractions around him are really getting on his nerves. I know how he feels though, don’t you? You know you should be doing something, like writing a letter, but you just sit there, all the time your thinking, I should be writing that letter but you never do. His is n that sort of block strange. Also, what isn’t so obvious at first is that he is an extremely passionate man, fuelled by love.
James Leer is also a beautifully rich character, who is actually just Grady but younger, and I think when the two realise that then a turning point in the film is met. James has a tendency to take himself away from reality, as he has such a vivid imagination he makes up these strange yet believable tales, and as he is so intelligent he knows how to play people.
Before I said that Hannah greens only role is to be eye candy, but that is actually wrong, she is there to link James and Grady together, and also to be a calming force. If you watch the film, you will see that whenever it gets too crazy, she pops up and gives a bit of advice that twists the whole story around. Ashe is quite an interesting character, once you think about it, but whilst watching the film, she isn’t very noticeable.
Wonder Boys is a beautifully crafted piece of film making. each scene is almost breath taking and always wonderfully quirky. I love the way that all these completely different characters are connected by interesting and touchingly emotional bonds. It’s a movie about humans and what motivates them to do the strange things they do. It is so wonderfully crafted, that you really do become completely absorbed in the story, performances, characters, settings and the emotion.
The script is wonderfully witty and refreshingly different. It isn’t bound by the conventional Hollywood
Pictures of Wonder Boys (DVD)
Wonder Boys
rules. The movie is not only thought provoking, but really beautifully written. The script is like the main character because it’s a very slow movie; the words are the biggest aspects it’s got. After all it’s a movie about an intelligent and witty writer, so it had to have both of those traits. I also loved the way that Wonder Boys was shot. It has a wonderful sense of independant film making about it, but still had fantastic production values. This really is a claustrophobic movie that I will admit, needs your undivided attention, but if you give it that, it will be well worth it. It is strangely shot, as sometimes you have beautiful scenes, mixed with rather amateurish shot ones, which for me added a whole different spin on the story. I don’t know what it is that I loved so much about the production of the film, but I just felt, it had real heart, and that’s a hard thing to find in Hollywood.
On the cover, Wonder boys, boasts a shiny red badge saying Oscar winner, I turned over and read that the Oscar was for best original song, Bob Dylan ‘Things Have Changed’ it was a well deserved Oscar, as like the film, it is a thought provoking one and perfectly slots the film. It manages to brings all the emotion in the film to the for front. The rest of the soundtrack is fitting, with some filthy rock, some indie and ballads.
In 1997 Chris Hanson directed a little old movie called L.A. Confidential. One of my favourite movies, it was so stylish, yet all the characters were well formed and I each interesting. That was directed brilliantly, as is this. Hanson injects the most wonderful atmosphere into this, and the performances he gets out of his cast are fantastic. It’s has a lot of vision and I think that is down to him. It is wonderfully dry humoured and Hanson really plays on that fact. I truly think that he is one of the best directors around at the moment.
I can not stress how funny this film is. I was laughing for at least three quarters of it, and that’s no mean feat, as it’s not gross out humour (which I usually like) it is all down to brilliant comic timing and a dry script. One scene where Katie Holmes is talking about Grady’s new book, I was laughing at for the longest time.
At amazon.co.uk it says this film is not realised until the 7th of February 2005, but I got it from the local video shop on VHS.
I realise that some people won’t like this, because it’s not the most exciting of films, but it truly is a journey. Although it’s very dark in places, the end will make you happier about your life and the world we live in, and you will feel that everybody has some good inside them, no matter what else.
So in my pursuit to become a better film reviewer, I stumbled across, a thought provoking, intelligent, touching, impeccably acted and visually exciting comedy, with all the heart of American Beauty and style of L.A. Confidential. I really can’t say a bad word about it.
Thank you everyone for reading. Have a great 2005, all the best as always : ) Jay
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Good review, this film is fantastic and everyone should take a look. It's just a pity that you have to warn people off by mentioning that it's not all crash bang wallop and gross out humour. Some people just don't want to think with films these days. Tobey Maguire is very whiney and annoying in every film i have seen him in which is the only downfall of this film. I hate Tobey Maguire!!
ralfschumacher 24.01.2005 12:03
I saw this quite some time ago now but I've been waiting for a SE DVD but there hasn't been one yet. Excellent review! --Chris--
martint1983 20.01.2005 15:53
Great review i've never heard of it beofre but i'll look out for it
Wonder Boysis one of those films in which more twists and turns disrupt the life of the ... more
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 col...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
An unfinished novel a stolen car a murdered pet and a failing marriage are just a few of ... more
the crises piling up like a logjam in this often hilarious story of bright promise gone awry. During a single hectic weekend college professor Grady Tripp (Mic...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
An unfinished novel a stolen car a murdered pet and a failing marriage are just a few of ... more
the crises piling up like a logjam in this often hilarious story of bright promise gone awry. During a single hectic weekend college professor Grady Tripp (Mic...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: The sharp script and lead performance from Micheal Douglas, well supported by a fine cast. Disadvantages: This won't appeal to some and can drag in a few places.
Mercury 18.06.2001 (18.06.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Wonder Boys (DVD)
Advantages: The sharp script and lead performance from Micheal Douglas, well supported by a fine cast. Disadvantages: This won't appeal to some and can drag in a few places.
Mercury 18.06.2001 (18.06.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Wonder Boys (DVD)
Advantages: Some good performances. Handful of laughs. Downey and Maguire. Disadvantages: Boring at times. Feels it wants to be zany but instead tries for too much sentiment. Bad ending.
Darius 27.05.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Wonder Boys (DVD)
![Wonder Boys [DVD] [2000]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78523971.jpg "Wonder Boys [DVD] [2000]")
Jan 5th, 2005
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