Wonder Boys (2000)

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writers (WGA):

Michael Chabon (novel)
Steve Kloves (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 February 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Undependable. Unpredictable. Unforgettable.

Plot:

An English Professor tries to deal with his wife leaving him, the arrival of his editor who has been waiting for his book for seven years, and the various problems that his friends and associates involve him in.

Plot Keywords:

College | Professor | Dog | Writer's Block | Jacket

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 14 wins & 32 nominations

Cast

Michael Douglas	...	Prof. Grady Tripp
Tobey Maguire	...	James Leer
Frances McDormand	...	Dean Sara Gaskell
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Terry Crabtree
Katie Holmes	...	Hannah Green
Rip Torn	...	Quentin 'Q' Morewood
Richard Knox	...	Vernon Hardapple
Jane Adams	...	Oola
Michael Cavadias	...	Miss Antonia 'Tony' Sloviak
Richard Thomas	...	Walter Gaskell
Alan Tudyk	...	Sam Traxler
Philip Bosco	...	Emily's Father
George Grizzard	...	Fred Leer
Kelly Bishop	...	Amanda Leer
Bill Velin	...	Officer Pupcik

MPAA:

Rated R for language and drug content.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

UK | Germany | USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Italy:T | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Beaver, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

When Grady returns to his house to find Terry (Robert Downey Jr.) throwing a party, the song playing as he enters the house is "Waiting for the Miracle," by 'Leonard Cohen'. This same song plays over the opening credits of Natural Born Killers (1994), also starring Downey.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The story takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - yet there are no inspection stickers on the windshields nor emissions stickers.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Grady Tripp: "The young girl sat perfectly still in the confessional listening to her father's boots scrape like chalk on the ancient steps of the church, then grow faint, then disappear altogether. She could sense the priest beyond the grate...” On that particular Friday afternoon, last February, I was reading a story to my Advanced Writers' Workshop by one James Leer, Junior Lit major and sole inhabitant of his own gloomy gulag.

Movie Connections:

Features Written on the Wind (1956)

Soundtrack:

Things Have Changed

The best college movie since 'Animal House'.

Funny and enjoyable drama about a self-centered English professor (Michael Douglas) who encounters several little dilemmas during a weekend festival on the college campus where he works.

The performance that Douglas delivers here got to be one of his finest in recent memory. Perhaps his best. Besides Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Katie Holmes, Frances McDormand, Rip Torn, and Robert Downey, Jr. make one of the best supporting casts that I've seen in quite some time. Downey and Maguire (who portray the curious editor and the prized pupil) both turn in super performances that should have earned the pair Best Supporting Actor nominations. Torn's character shares the same name as the man who gave James Bond those cute and exciting gadgets, which is "Q".

"Wonder Boys" is the first film directed by Curtis Hanson, who hit gold with "L.A. Confidential" a few years ago. Screenwriter Steve Kloves writes a smart and intelligent story here and places the funny moments with some perfect timing. Photographer Dante Spinotti ("Heat", "L.A. Confidential", "The Insider") provides the movie with great views of the campus during the fall and winter seasons. The movie's theme song, "Things Have Changed", written and sung by the legendary Bob Dylan, is great to listen to and deserves an Oscar for it.

Overall, this film is the best college movie made since John Landis' classic comedy spoof/satire, "Animal House". This movie is "Animal House" with much better morals and doesn't have the common clichés.