Wonder Boys: A Review

“Why did you keep writing this book, if you didn't even know what it was about?”

“Because I couldn't stop.”

Wonder Boys is a film about the college experience and the trials and tribulations of being a writer. What makes it different from most college films is that it focuses on not only the students, but the faculty as well. The film was directed by Curtis Hanson and has a great cast that includes Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Robert Downey Jr., and Frances McDormand. Released in 2000 and running at 112 minutes, this dark comedy has moments that make you laugh, moments that touch your heart, and most importantly, moments that make you think.

Professor Grady (Douglas) is an English professor at a Pittsburgh university who had a hit book seven years ago. Now the literary world is waiting for his next hit and he can’t seem to find an ending for the book. His editor Terry Crabtree (Downey Jr.) is in town to check out his progress on the book. Grady and Crabtree attend a party at the chancellor’s house in preparation for Wordfest, the university’s annual festival for writers. Grady has been sleeping with the chancellor, Sarah Gaskell, (McDormand) who is a married woman. While at the party she reveals to him some sobering news and tells him he must make a decision about their relationship.  Also at the party, Grady runs into one of his students, James. James is a brilliant writer, but a somewhat troubled kid. Due to some entangling circumstances at the party, Grady spends the rest of the movie trying to keep James out of trouble. As Grady, James, and Crabtree gallivant around Pittsburgh, Sarah constantly remains on Grady’s mind. Grady continually searches for ways to solve not only James’ problem, but his own many problems as well.

A good college film accurately portrays college life, captures the spirit of the students, and appeals to the audience that it portrays-college kids themselves. The only place I found Wonder Boys to be lacking was its portrayal of college life. Some of the scenes came off as unbelievable. In fact the whole premise of the amount of time Grady spent with James outside of school on such a personal level seemed unbelievable to me. However, it did capture the spirit of college students. James is an obviously smart kid, who just doesn't know what to do with his life yet, like a lot of college kids. Because of this, I connected to James and the movie appealed to me as a part of its target audience. Other positive things to note are that Downey and Douglas were both wonderful in their roles, with Downey often providing comic relief. Although at times it was hard to tell where the storyline was going, everything wrapped up nicely in the end and taught a good life lesson. Finally, as a native of the Pittsburgh area, I was very pleased with how the city was depicted.

Wonder Boys was in all, a decent college movie. The characters were well played, and any average college student could probably see a little bit of themselves in James. The cast had great chemistry and the story kept you on your toes. Its only fault is that at times it struggles to stay within the realm of believability. However, its good points outweigh its faults, making it a movie worth your time to see.