Any comments on this film? I really loved it! Curtis Hanson did a wonderful job with his camera work and the cast is first-rate. It's a personality movie that has interesting characters.
Poster:
http://www.impawards.com/2000/wonder_boys_ver2.html
i love it too. first viewing i wasnt blown away by it, but the more i watch it and the better i know the characters the funnier it becomes and the more i enjoy it. its something i can put on a million times to watch before i go to bed. quirky, funny, great cast. i love it.
.......this film is cool.......ffunnny.....and i like how as soon as the title appears that badass dylan sonng starts playing....the sonng sorta explodes to begin the titles.....
also.....there is so much sh*t you cath up w/ repaeted viweings.....
and downnety is hilarious.........
I really liked the movie. My favorite part is when James Leer asks why Michael Douglas should take the blame for shooting the dog, and he says, "I've got tenure." The book is really good too.
Quote from: A Matter Of ChanceI really liked the movie. My favorite part is when James Leer asks why Michael Douglas should take the blame for shooting the dog, and he says, "I've got tenure." The book is really good too.
I haven't read the book, but I loved
Kavalier and Klay. Is it as good?
I really like this movie, too. Someone said in a different thread how Hanson was a "hack" who got lucky with
LA Confidential, but I thought this was a more than worthy follow-up.
I don't like Michael Douglas, usually, but he was really good. And McDormand is almost always worth watching.
Really good stuff.
I love Wonder Boys. One of my all-time favourite films ever. I've seen it at least 50 times and it never gets old to me.
Quote from: Derek237I love Wonder Boys. One of my all-time favourite films ever. I've seen it at least 50 times and it never gets old to me.
...me too.........i think my fav. part is when douglas in VO says something like .."james.________ was a sunnny as his dispositionnn"...then it cuts to that loook on macguire's face......
and the "ground lamb"....is already film..classic... but i have never tried it though.....
Definitely love it. It falls under the "subtle, sophisticated humor" umbrella along with, say, Wes Anderson's later works.
Quote from: OnomatopoeiaDefinitely love it. It falls under the "subtle, sophisticated humor" umbrella along with, say, Wes Anderson's later works.
later works? by that you mean the second two movies he made?
hahaha
Quote from: ©bradQuote from: OnomatopoeiaDefinitely love it. It falls under the "subtle, sophisticated humor" umbrella along with, say, Wes Anderson's later works.
later works? by that you mean the second two movies he made?
Exactly! :-D
Quote from: godardian
I haven't read the book, but I loved Kavalier and Klay. Is it as good?
Better than Kavalier and Klay, which I also loved. Read it. Love it. Live it.
Honestly one of my favourite movies of all time. I've lost count on the amount of times I've watched it.
The book is great too, and lots more to enjoy and to supplement with following viewings of Wonder Boys. There was a great bit about Grady's Proffessor of English when he was at University, who used to wave a gun out his office window shouting down to students to write about truth.
In addition to the "Sunny disposition" shot, another favourite is the wide shot of Grady, Crabtree and Q in Gradys car after Vernon starts chasing them around: "I just got my hood jumped on.". They're all looking almost straight into the camera, its great.
I prefer Kavalier and Klay as a book but its an epic and hard to compare to something as intimate as Wonder Boys.
Just caught it on TV yesterday, which was my second viewing. Loved it the first time, loved it now. Didn't like the ending though. A bit too sunny, but I guess it was fitting.
definitely one of the best movies of the last 10 years. genius.
I just love the Grady Tripp character, he's great.
Saw Wonder Boys again tonight with a couple friends. Still a great film.
We made the mistake of going through some of the extras. A painful Bob Dylan video, and Curtis Hanson trying to explain why he used music in a given scene. Painful. He came across as really quite stupid. So I don't know if this is a fluke, or if the screenplay was just really good for both films (well, now three or so).
Anyway, anyone want to recommend any films similar in tone to Wonder Boys? We all kinda liked that easygoing, college town vibe the film had going for it. Plus, the weather was a great touch, I thought.
he came across quite stupid in 8 mile too especially when he called Eminem the Da Vinci of rap battles.
nah, he's good.
Quote from: ono mo cuishleSo I don't know if this is a fluke, or if the screenplay was just really good for both films (well, now three or so).
I gurantee I'm the only one of this opinion, but I haven't really liked any of his films. My initial enjoyment of L.A. Confidential got me to read the book. Bad decision because the book destroys the film and makes the film look like it didn't even try to be as interesting or as vibrant as that book. Its a book on a level that maybe only Oliver Stone could have kept up with.
Wonder Boys is enjoyable, but its gives superficial symbolism like it was ripped from a book and never really delves beyond that. It stays at surface level through out the entire film where everything is observable and understandable. Sideways is also obviously from a novel, but at least it makes a point not to take every clear signal of symbolism from its book and put it in the film (at least it didn't seem like it did). Wonder Boys is very explanatory. Tobey Maguire's suicide character characterized by his ability to name off every Hollywood actor/actress suicide really is a trademark novel characterization. Its just novels can use such trite ideas and find success because they have the ability to really delve into the characters in other ways.
man, i love wonder boys. such an underrated film. ono, i know what you're saying abou the college town vibe but there really is not another film that does or capture that same feel that hanson did.
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetTobey Maguire's suicide character characterized by his ability to name off every Hollywood actor/actress suicide really is a trademark novel characterization.
But that was all part of his act - not the true identity of the character. You only see the real James Leer in the basement when they come to rescue him.
I see what you're saying, though but a better example would be the 'dead dog'. Thats the novelistic hook that the rest of the film hangs from but when you have a film ostensibly about writing - isnt that the point? Its a yarn.
Quote from: ®edlumQuote from: The Gold TrumpetTobey Maguire's suicide character characterized by his ability to name off every Hollywood actor/actress suicide really is a trademark novel characterization.
But that was all part of his act - not the true identity of the character. You only see the real James Leer in the basement when they come to rescue him.
Yea, I'll give you that point. It still feels wrong for me, but logically, your right.
Quote from: ono mo cuishleWe made the mistake of going through some of the extras. A painful Bob Dylan video, and Curtis Hanson trying to explain why he used music in a given scene. Painful. He came across as really quite stupid. So I don't know if this is a fluke, or if the screenplay was just really good for both films .
The script is definately great. One of my favorite from the 90s for sure. But I wouldn't say Curtis Hanson is stupid. I met him once and didn't think he was dumb. Just a really really arrogant asshole.
Douglas Turned To Father After 'Wonder Boys' Disappointment
Oscar-winner Michael Douglas turned to his father Kirk Douglas for support when his 2000 movie Wonder Boys failed to garner the critical acclaimed he felt sure it deserved. The Wall Street star is still convinced it's a "f**king disgrace" the film, which also featured Tobey Maguire and Katie Holmes, was ignored by awards ceremonies and audiences alike. But he took comfort in his screen icon father, who suffered a similar disappointment when his favorite performance - in the 1962 movie Lonely Are The Brave - went largely unnoticed. Douglas says, "Wonder Boys was a huge disappointment personally. I loved the movie and we didn't even get critically acknowledged as far as awards go. I thought it was a f**king disgrace. I'll be honest - it really hurt my confidence. It was a punch in the gut. In fact it was my father who helped me through it. His favorite movie is Lonely Are The Brave. Nobody saw that when it came out, nobody's seen it since. My father's disappointment in that movie helped me get over mine."
Quote from: MacGuffin on August 20, 2006, 11:43:36 AM
Douglas Turned To Father After 'Wonder Boys' Disappointment
Oscar-winner Michael Douglas turned to his father Kirk Douglas for support when his 2000 movie Wonder Boys failed to garner the critical acclaimed he felt sure it deserved. The Wall Street star is still convinced it's a "f**king disgrace" the film, which also featured Tobey Maguire and Katie Holmes, was ignored by awards ceremonies and audiences alike. But he took comfort in his screen icon father, who suffered a similar disappointment when his favorite performance - in the 1962 movie Lonely Are The Brave - went largely unnoticed. Douglas says, "Wonder Boys was a huge disappointment personally. I loved the movie and we didn't even get critically acknowledged as far as awards go. I thought it was a f**king disgrace. I'll be honest - it really hurt my confidence. It was a punch in the gut. In fact it was my father who helped me through it. His favorite movie is Lonely Are The Brave. Nobody saw that when it came out, nobody's seen it since. My father's disappointment in that movie helped me get over mine."
What a redundant blurb.