Wonder Boys Reviews

A funny, entertaining and at times poignant study of a talented writer's mid-life crisis. Michael Douglas surprises by giving quite easily his best performance since "Falling Down" and Tobey Maguire again proves why he is one the best actors of his generation. Robert Downey Jr, Katie Holmes and others give this film further class. Defintely worth a couple of hours of your time.

Excellent Film

What a brilliant film and convincing story. Great perfomances by Michael Douglas and Cutie Holmes and a real special movie.

A must see.

A movie for all the oddballs out there!

Welcome to the world of Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas), an author.

He's having a bad day: his wife has left him, his mistress (Frances McDormand) has announced that she is pregnant and he is suffering from writer's block. When he is at a party he meets one of his students, a young boy named James Leer (Tobey Maguire), who happens to be obsessed with celebrity suicides. Together, they manage to shoot his friend's dog and steal a priceless jacket which once belonged to Marilyn Monroe. In a pot induced frenzy, they flee and try to sort out both their lifes while Grady's homosexual agent (Robert Downey Junior) is one step behind them, trying to catch a glimpse of Grady's latest masterpiece.

Wonder Boys hits all the right notes! The writing is hilariously funny at times, touching at others. Michael Douglas gives his most pleasing performance in an age and is truly convincing as a once brilliant 'wonder boy', now a miserable failure. Tobey Maguire adds another string to his bow as Grady's protege and Frances McDormand is smashing, even if her role is smaller than I would of liked it to be.

But...

The happy ending (of sorts) just doesn't sit well with whats gone before it all. This movie may be a comedy but it is a black comedy none the less so you may expect a pessimistic ending but everything is wrapped up too neatly for my liking. That's what keeps it from getting a 5 out of 5. Ack well!

A very good film. Michael Douglas is superb as a screwed-up college professor, Toby Maquire is suitably strange as one of Douglas' students (he really is a very good actor) and Robert Downey Jr is undeniably excellent, playing an off-the-wall book editor. The story is very bizarre and everything that the film synopsis suggests, however don't let that put you off - it's definitely worth a watch.

Fantastic Indie film!

I have seen this movie a million times and as a film maker can really apreciate how a minimal story line and great characters can make a fine film. I recommend this to everyone.

Soooo boring!!!!!

This film was so slow and boring, at one stage I had forgotten I was watching it. Never did make it to the end.

Tobey Maguire and Michael Douglas are both brilliant and there are so many good supporting actors. It is just an honest to goodness decent film with no extra frills.It does not need them as the story of the film is intense and completely holds your attention.

Heart-warming

This is a lovely film. Strong Characters playing with gusto in strong roles. Great storyline and direction. Leaves you feeling strangely good about yourself.

Having first encountered Tobey Maguire in Spiderman (I) and thought he couldn't act for toffee, a friend suggested I try some of his - till then, anyway - more typical films. I stand corrected (and why were his skills wasted in Spidey?) - he does oddballs to <i>perfection</i>, and this film is no exception.

<br><br>Michael Douglas and Robert Downey Jr are both a delight in their different ways, and the dryness of the humour is almost British.

<br><br>Wonder Boys is a bit of a weird film - not an enormous amount of action, and all about having a midlife crisis and being a social misfit - but very well-observed and screamingly funny in a dark kind of way. I love it so much, I've bought my own copy.

No thanks

Sorry started off really slow and just did not feel we wanted waste our time on this. Switched off after 20mins. No further comment!