For years, the Accidental Tourist was my favorite movie. But Wonder Boys has taken the forefront. I stumbled on to this rare gem at 1:40 a.m. while channel checking during a particularly bad bout of insomnia. The catchy opening ballad sort of caught my attention, and then Michael Douglas, playing a truly divine, thoroughly disheveled college professor appealed to my sense of whimsy. Add in Toby Maguire as a dark, morose English Lit major and Robert Downey, Jr. as a gay (sort of) New York literary agent and I was completely sucked in. The cast is rounded out with Frances McDormand as the cynical married mistress of Douglas, a blind pit bull (that hates Douglas), and an ugly pinkish chenille bathrobe (worn by Douglas) and you have a little movie magic.
The beauty of this movie is there is not one wasted line of dialogue. Every single line is perfect. Every time I watch it, there is something funnier that I didn't pick up on the first five times I watched it.
The plot is pretty simple, an aging writer, Grady Tripp (Douglas) is struggling with letting go and handing over his "Wonder Boy" title to the next literary genius, James Leer (Toby Maguire. Together Grady Tripp and James Leer sort of blunder along through the weekend trying to figure out where they belong in the world and work through a few "issues." We are lucky enough to be pulled along with them through Wordfest at the college where Grady Tripp teaches, a ratty bar, and a few of other places along the way.
It is worth whatever you pay to see this movie just to watch Frances McDormand act perfectly gracious when Terry Crabtree (Robert Downey, Jr.) brings a HUGE transvestite wearing a 3-inch heels and bright red coat over to her house for cocktails. McDormand also delivers some fabulous one liners in her dry understated style.
Let's face it, a movie that features a huge transvestite in a red coat, a tuba, a dead dog, an ugly car, the president of the James Brown hair club for men, Marilyn Monroe's jacket and Robert Downey, Jr. can't be all bad. You have to see the movie to see how they all turn out.
The beauty of this movie is there is not one wasted line of dialogue. Every single line is perfect. Every time I watch it, there is something funnier that I didn't pick up on the first five times I watched it.
The plot is pretty simple, an aging writer, Grady Tripp (Douglas) is struggling with letting go and handing over his "Wonder Boy" title to the next literary genius, James Leer (Toby Maguire. Together Grady Tripp and James Leer sort of blunder along through the weekend trying to figure out where they belong in the world and work through a few "issues." We are lucky enough to be pulled along with them through Wordfest at the college where Grady Tripp teaches, a ratty bar, and a few of other places along the way.
It is worth whatever you pay to see this movie just to watch Frances McDormand act perfectly gracious when Terry Crabtree (Robert Downey, Jr.) brings a HUGE transvestite wearing a 3-inch heels and bright red coat over to her house for cocktails. McDormand also delivers some fabulous one liners in her dry understated style.
Let's face it, a movie that features a huge transvestite in a red coat, a tuba, a dead dog, an ugly car, the president of the James Brown hair club for men, Marilyn Monroe's jacket and Robert Downey, Jr. can't be all bad. You have to see the movie to see how they all turn out.
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