It isn’t often to see intellectual comedies this side of Woody Allen. Perhaps it’s because few actors can crack wise about other “faux intellectuals” the way Woody can. “Wonder Boys” is a clever, wry film based on Michael Chabon’s inventive novel that certainly tries.
It stars Michael Douglas as the Woody Allen surrogate, English Professor Grady Tripp. Grady is a writer who struck gold once and is now plagued not with writer’s block but an inability to stop writing. As his sophomore book grows ever longer, he finds it hard to focus and come to an ending.
Distracting Grady are his students James (Tobey Maguire) and Hannah (Katie Holmes), the boy a dark, socially awkward kid with a writing gift of his own, and the girl renting a room from Grady but not afraid to move into his. His quasi-gay publishing editor Terry Crabtree (Robert Downey Jr.) also pesters him, his wife has left him and his boss and lover Sarah (Frances McDormand) is pregnant.
He also has a dead dog in his trunk.
“Wonder Boys” is a movie about how a man finds his destination in life, especially when there are so many wacky, interesting people around and things going on.
The author Chabon is really to thank for this wonderfully melancholic story that feels more like a literary adaptation than a cinematic one. The screenplay by Steve Kloves (screenwriter on seven of eight Harry Potter films) dances between each wacky subplot without ever seeming zany or losing its intelligent cool.
Douglas especially, in one of his best performances, hits this subtle tone perfectly. “Wonder Boys” isn’t quite a comedy, but his dry sarcasm and impeccable timing give his character the depth he deserves. Maguire too is cold, monotone and positively brilliant.
“Wonder Boys” is like a good book you remember long after you put it down. Although the character is all about finding his destination, we enjoy the miniscule details of Marilyn Monroe’s wedding day jacket and the colorful characters such as Antonia the transvestite along the way.
3 ½ stars