| Wonder Boys | | Cast : | Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire | | Director : | Curtis Hanson | | Studio : | Paramount Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | February 25, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | April 01, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 05, 2005 | | Summary | Not Dark Yet .. | Content
 | I see a soundtrack to practically every movie that gets produced these days [pretty soon there will be soundtracks to Documentaries I guess]. However I cannot think of a movie where the soundtrack is so vital to the overall existence of the movie .. its kind of the backbone of this particular cinema. Fantastic performances, educated direction and an excellent score makes this a must see. Strewn all over are some Dylan gems , including a brand new one. Great trip. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 04, 2005 | | Summary | A Funny Quirky Movie | Content
| This movie shines of a couple of levels primarily, strong performances and a good script. Michael Douglas hasn't had this much vitality onscreen since Romancing the Stone, and Tobey Maguire continues to impress. This movie is at times, very, very funny. I enjoyed this movie a lot and would recommend it to others. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 18, 2005 | | Summary | FLACCID FUN | Content
| Critically acclaimed at its time of release, I can't find myself jumping on the bandwagon for this one. WONDER BOYS features some really good performances from Michael Douglas as a washed out professor whose tribulations on a certain weekend would be more than enough to vanquish any male; Frances McDormand as the college chancellor and lover--and wife of his boss (a subdued and underused Richard Thomas); Tobey Maguire as a rather glum young wannabe writer with worlds of talent; Robert Downey Jr. as a homosexual editor who sets his sights on Maguire; and even Katie Holmes as one of Douglas' students who offers him solace. The whole thing is so laid back, though, and its points of conflict seemingly forced that I couldn't get involved in spite of the acting. WONDER BOYS just didn't fill me with any kind of wonder at all. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 11, 2005 | | Summary | Hilarious! | Content
| Well, lots of people have reviewed this in the usual way, telling you about the story, so I'll spare you that.
James Leer: Now, that is a big trunk. It holds a tuba, a suitcase, a dead dog, and a garment bag almost perfectly.
Grady Tripp: That's just what they used to say in the ads.
If you do not find that at least mildly amusing (after all it's not in context) you will not like this movie. But if you do find that funny, you should most definately see this film. It's filled with dry, dark, sarcastic humor, so if you like that, you will like it.
Personally, I think it's the funniest movie I've ever seen. At least it's in the top 5 funniest, and I've seen over 700 movies.
If you do like this movie, I advise you also see Kicking and Screaming (the one with Chris Eigemann, not the one with Will Ferrell), it has a similar kind of humor. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 03, 2004 | | Summary | A severely underrated film | Content
| Back during my late high school years, my father bought the "Wonder Boys" soundtrack. Hearing Bob Dylan's powerful and poetic masterpiece "Things Have Changed" was something that captivated me. Even though I hadn't seen the movie yet, Dylan's lyrics were nothing short of brilliant and just downright truthful. Sort of a bluesy feeling and self-loathing track, but done in a humorous way. At least, that's what I think of the track. Hearing this track got me wanting to watch the movie for myself.
Upon first viewing, the words that come up at the beginning of the movie kinda bugged me, telling the viewer that this movie was modified and edited. I panicked, but hearing Michael Douglas' character, Professor Grady Tripp, say the "f" word got me relieved... although I wonder why that "disclaimer" is even shown at the beginning of the film...?
The movie was nothing like I expected it to be. I expected an emotional drama that a simple-minded high school student won't understand. It's a movie that centers around Professor Grady Tripp. He's had it rough lately. His girlfriend leaves him, his other lover Sara (played by the wonderful Frances McDormand) is pregnant and contemplates on whether to have an abortion or not, one of his college students, James Leer (played by Tobey Maguire in probably his best role to date) is a moody person that Tripp doesn't understand, nosey editor Terry Crabtree (played hilariously by Robert Downey, Jr.) is hounding Tripp about his unfinished novel, which Tripp can't finish because he suffers from writer's block and ultimately wrote a 2000+ page epic that just goes on and on... and to make matters worse, Tripp has been experiencing blackouts and resorts to drugs to ease down.
This may look like some typical drama, but the most surprising thing about this movie is the fact that it's funny. I mean, it's just downright hilarious. So many odd things pop up, which only adds to Tripp's problems. His editor is going out with a *ahem* transvestite. His student, James Leer, shot a dog that belong to Tripp's lady friend Sara's husband, who happens to be Tripp's boss. I mean... this is one wacky movie. It's what some people categorize as a "dark comedy," "black comedy, "comedy/drama," or like how I categorize it: a "dramedy."
Even with its numerous humorous (heh... I made a funny!) scenes, the movie is also very touching. Despite Tripp's problems, he still manages to be a good teacher, as well as mentor, to James Leer. He wants to be a good husband to Sara (even if she's already married to his boss). And most of all, Tripp wants to finish his damn book so he could get Crabtree off his back.
"Wonder Boys" is truly one of the best movies of recent times. Wackiness ensues, but don't think of this as some slap-stick comedy. Think of it as more intelligent and witty humor. And there's the story of a teacher and a student that discover that there's pleasure and happiness in life. A severely underrated masterpiece and it ranks in my top ten favorite films of all-time. It was released in the year 2000, which I call the year of bad, awful, and lame movies. "Wonder Boys" isn't one of them. In fact, I'd call "Wonder Boys" the best film of 2000. |
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