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Review by Susan Granger
3 stars out of 4
The pressure's on Curtis Hanson directing his first picture
after the highly acclaimed L.A. Confidential. Adapted by Steve Kloves
from Michael Chabon's 1995 novel, the theme here revolves around a
middle-aged author who is creatively paralyzed after having published
a successful novel seven years ago. Although it is not explained in
the movie, a 'wonder boy' is someone who has experienced great success
early in life and then has to face the fear and insecurity of living
up to himself. Michael Douglas plays the cynical, dissolute college
professor who cannot finish the manuscript for his next book - which
now numbers more than 2,500 single-spaced typewritten pages - as he
spends a picaresque "Wordfest" weekend frantically juggling his newly
pregnant mistress, a suicidal student, his visiting editor, the corpse
of a dead dog, and a fur-trimmed jacket that once belonged to Marilyn
Monroe. Frances McDormand is his romantic interest; she's the college
chancellor who's married to the head of the English department. Tobey
Maguire is a gifted but deeply troubled writing student who catches
the eye of Robert Downey, as Douglas's flamboyant editor from New
York. Katie Holmes is a seductive young student with a crush on
Douglas, and Rip Torn is successful, self-satisfied pop-culture
writer. Set in wintry western Pennsylvania - superbly photographed by
Dante Spinotti - it's a screwball, character-driven story whose
eclectic inhabitants are wacky, weird and whimsical. And the memorable
soundtrack includes Bob Dylan's new song, "Things Have Changed." On
the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Wonder Boys is a sly, darkly
humorous 7 - aimed at an intelligent, sophisticated audience.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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