Wonder Boys

At a recent Dylan concert, my friend Charlie pointed out a shiny gold statuette placed unobtrusively atop one of the speakers way in the back of the stage. It was the Oscar which Dylan won for his Best Song "Things Have Changed" from this movie, from "The Wonder Boys." I was glad that my friend pointed out that gold thing in the background because it added a whole other dimension to the concert. There was a story behind the statue - the whole "Wonder Boys" story and I was glad to be familiar with it. No, Bob never mentioned the statue. Why should he? He's Bob Dylan. He just did his thing, played his music.

Life presents us with the absurd as much as it does the mundane. Watching the way people handle the good and bad drama in their life is a hobby of mine. I liked the way Bob Dylan kept his "Wonder Boys" gold quietly present.

Michael Douglas' Grady Tripp doesn't call attention to his abnormally odd weekend, either. Douglas' Grady always maintains his cool even with a transvestite's tuba and his mistress' husband's dead dog and "the Crabtree pharmacopoeia" in the trunk of his ass-marked car. Grady deals with all of it. Grady deals with everything this peculiar weekend shows him - with a calm voice and an attitude mellowed from either age or experience or pot. In the here and now, he is calm and quiet but we all know that he'll have his anxiety or heart attack quietly near offstage with as few crowds and drama about them as possible.

Grady speaks lines like "gimme the gun, James" matter of factly, the same way that his married girlfriend tells him she's pregnant, the same way he'd order a drink from Oola. Why add drama and histrionics to the mix? He is what he is. Things are the way they are - even though things have changed.

One of the things that separates one human from another is the way we deal with change. isn't it? Personally? I want to hear about the absurdities of life. I like observing how people deal with it all. I like those stories.

Tripp's fellow travelers are in flux too - it's not just Grady going through change - his wife (unseen), his mistress (France McDormand), his editor (Robert Downey, Jr.), his students (Tobey Maguire and Katie Holmes) - all of them are experiencing an extraordinary weekend but there's hardly a voice raised in the storytelling.

The soundtrack alone is worth the viewing, thanks, Bob Dylan! And Curtis Hansen, Michael Chabon - tell me another story, please! If you can manage to bring a similarly wonderful ensemble cast - even better!

Not many people have heard of this film. It's not what the masses want, they yearn for Men In Black II, Legally Blonde, Die Another Day and so on. This minor gem is strange, unconventional, rich and moving. It is a classically written character study with unexpected comic twists and turns from every angle. You feel warmer for having watched this movie, and it is a shame that films like these only occur once or twice a year.

Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) is a middle-aged professor of English, and is writing his second novel, `The Wonder Boys'. However, this character is not a stereotypical teacher but a fantastically original creation emphasized by Douglas' winning performance. He smokes weed and lives with a student of his (Katie Holmes), he is in the midst of his third divorce and is in love with his married boss, Sara Gaskell (Frances McDormand), and that second novel is forever incomplete, and has been for seven years. One of his pupils is James Leer, played to perfection by Tobey Maguire, who writes amazingly obtuse stories and is obsessed with the death of film stars. James and Grady become partners in crime when they shoot Sara's blind dog and steal the coat Marilyn Monroe was married in. From here on in we are absorbed into the life of Grady and those around him, from his publisher terry Crabtree (Downey jr) to his writer rival, Q. we see lives slowly fall apart, relationships blossom, a novel disappear into the wind and a black dude who refuses to be called Vernon Hardapple, all in one weekend.

Wonder Boys never disappoints. It's dry humour and bizarre imagination never stops for a second, and we are glued with a grin on our faces. Hardly realistic, the audience can still feel for the characters as their lives spiral into a comic frenzy. Grady and his off-beat world crumbling around him as he searches for happiness; Terry, the flamboyant homosexual who puts on a brave face, believing in others as he searches for a comeback novel (which he will not get from Grady); James, the loner who needs to release the genius within himself. These are the wonder boys. Frances McDormand and Katie Holmes gladly take a back seat in the story as this film refuses to be weighed down by sap.

The acting is flawless, with at least two superb supporting roles. Robert Downey jr sparkles in his greatest role since Chaplin, but it is Tobey Maguire who makes us feel he has always been that awkward, deadpan student that is James Leer. For those who have seen Pleasantville and The Cider House Rules will recognise Maguire for the talant he is (it almost makes one feel he sold out when taking the Spider-Man role), and here he has been sadly overlooked for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Douglas is in fine form as he always is in these strange and demanding roles, the last one being Falling Down. He can play a suicidal maniac and a stoned teacher and both roles will seem tailor made. The direction is impeccable as Hanson allows the characters to shine and the story flow, and it is almost unbelievable that this man directed the gritty, deadly serious L.A. Confidential. He packs Kloves screenplay with comic beauty and I sincerely hope he continues to direct these understated movies.

The big money-makers over the past few years have been either remakes, sequels or by-the-number churned out garbage and all these have one objective: to earn copious amounts of cash. Many of these film are successful in this aim but fail to capture one's imagination as Wonder Boys does so well. It is a shame to see the public throw there money at `Rocky and Bullwinkle' when it really should go to those who deserve it, those who still care about the art of motion picture. Anyone that will sit down to watch this will agree that it is a treasure to behold. A hidden treasure

Michael Douglas has always been one of my favorite actors. He deserved his Oscar for Wall Street, commanded every second of screen time he had in Falling Down, and has given some of the most underrated comic performances in history in Romancing the Stone and War of the Roses. But I'd have to give his performance in Wonder Boys as his best. His turn as stoner college professor Grady Tripp is the model for the laid back, totally likeable and loveable protaginist. He's the kind of professor I dream of having in real life.

After watching this movie, I seriously wanted to go and write a book. For any of you blocked writers out there, just pop in Wonder Boys and you have your muse.

I am usually annoyed by films based on novels about novelists. Really, it's like the author couldn't think of anything else to write about. `Write what you know.' That's what the writing instructors tell you. But a novel about a writer makes it seem like writing is all you know. Who, except other writers, would want to read it? The opening scenes of Wonder Boys, however, buried whatever hang-ups I had. This story is less about writing than it is about the tortured souls that produce it.

This film is a departure from anything I've seen before. Really, has there ever been another major studio movie set in Pittsburgh? It's about time. Here's another departure: Wonder Boys triumphs as a character study. How many comedies can claim this? And a great comedy it is. Who can't appreciate the fact that one of the most important characters driving the story is a blind dog that's locked in a car trunk for most of the movie?

Not to be upstaged by said dog, Michael Douglas turns in his best performance since Wall Street. Douglas plays the ultimate tortured soul, Grady Tripp, a much-respected, award-winning, and soon-to-be divorced University of Pittsburgh writing prof, wrestling as many artists do with a novel that refuses to end. One of his students, James Leer (Tobey Maguire in his best performance ever), is trying his hardest to be a poor, struggling artist and is looking to be inspired. James all but cons his way into Grady's life and the scenes between these two crackle with life. James has his own novel he's finished, and Grady's editor, Terry Crabtree (Robert Downey, Jr.), believes he's found a true `wonder boy,' the next big thing. The film then dangles these questions in front of us: How will Grady find a balance between helping James, fulfilling James' expectations of his hero, and dealing with the fact that this kid is On The Verge while he himself is on page 1163 and counting? Always poignant and dazzling, the film's writer never strays from his characters in favor of overdramatization. Many opportunities exist and Mr. Kloves always wisely passes.

Grady's relationship problems are also piling up. The story takes place over the course of one weekend, and Grady is faced with one dilemma after another involving his married girlfriend, Sara (Frances MacDormand), the school's chancellor, his boarder and student Hannah (Katie Holmes, who will shine once she finds that good, meaty starring role), and of course his estranged wife (played by no one at all).

There's a lot to love about Wonder Boys and I assure you I've merely grazed the surface. The real reason I went to see it, though it looked interesting enough from the trailers, was Curtis Hanson. I liked parts of L.A. Confidential enough to see what other tricks he has up his sleeve. I must say that his work here is much more accomplished than Confidential, despite the fact that most critics thought it deserved to beat Titanic a couple of years back. I hope this gives you an idea of just how good I think Wonder Boys is. Unfortunately, this is an early-year, low-budget comedy about scholarly people, and Mr. Hanson will most likely be recognized for the mystery thriller that came before it.

I want to be wrong, so don't miss Wonder Boys.

Grade: A

I really love this film. Based on a novel by Michael Chabron, the film is set in a university over the course of a week-end long writing festival. The story concerns Professor Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) who's first novel was a huge success and has been struggling with the follow-up novel for years. When the film begins, Grady's young wife has just left him and his lover (who is married to the head of the English Department) is pregnant. Also, Grady's editor (Robert Downey Jr.) has arrived to see his (still unfinished) novel. To add to Grady's woes he has to cope with a brilliant, but deeply odd, student (Tobey Maguire).

The film has some very strong and witty dialogue, and benefits from great performances all around. Probably writers and aspiring writers will like this film for it's portrayal of the literary life. Anyone though will enjoy the humour, heart and fun of this inspirational movie.