Movie Review: Wonder Boys

I am not a huge fan of going to the movie theatres. I love movies, but the idea of sitting upright in a room full of people I do not know does not appeal me. Half way through the film my ADD kicks in and I am squirming till the end. However, last weekend, parents weekend, my dad, my mom, and I sat in boredom contemplating our next activity and I remembered my English class assignment: the Film Festival! My dad really wanted me to see The Graduate, but it was airing at an inconvenient time so we went with the next airing film: Wonder Boys. I had never heard of Wonder Boys before but it starred Michael Douglas so I knew it could not be that bad.

            Wonder Boys is a comedy-drama that came out in 2000 and is based on a 1995 book by Michael Chabon. Curtis Hanson, who is also known for movies such as 8 Mile and In Her Shoes, directs the film. The cast is outstanding – starring Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Katie Holmes, and Robert Downey Jr. After the film aired, it became a hit by the movie world and was nominated for many important awards. In 2001, Wonder Boys was nominated for a Grammy, won a Golden Globe, and won an Academy Award. Many of these awards earned were for the film’s admirable music. The film takes place in Pittsburgh – mainly at Carnegie Mellon University. I have never been to Pittsburgh so the setting of the film did not mean anything to me. However, for those who are from or are familiar with Pittsburgh, the setting will definitely be a lot more meaningful and relatable.

            Wonder Boys tells the story about an English professor and writer, Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas), who keeps having bad things happen to his life. I feel that Michael Douglas does an outstanding job with Grady’s character as well as narrating the whole film in first person. He plays him as an old, worn out, pot-smoking man who does not quite have his life figured out yet. After Grady’s wife leaves him at the very beginning, he finds out the girl whom he has been having an affair with, is pregnant with his child. This “girl”, Sarah Gaskell (Frances McDormand), is not only the university chancellor but is also married to the head of the university’s English department. “She was a junkie for the printed word. Lucky for me, I manufactured her drug of choice,” quote said by Grady pertaining to Sarah. Besides romantic relationships, Grady also deals with student relationships. Katie Holmes plays the role of Hannah Green, a cute student of Grady’s who rents out a room in his house. She has a crush on Grady and throughout the movie tries to seduce him but he’s never interested. Then there’s James Leer (Tobey Maguire), another student of Grady’s, who has enough problems of his own and looks to Grady for guidance. In a comical, yet serious way, the movie follows Grady as he is caught in the middle of these sticky situations that only seem to get worse. When the movie ended I was glad that I brought my parents. The film definitely appealed more to the older generation with the adult humor and other aspects. In the end, I was not squirming – I was intrigued. Wonder Boys was a movie about finding the meaning to life and I recommend it…for anyone above the age of twenty!