Wonder Boys

I’ve wanted to see this movie ever since hearing the first strains of that song on the trailer. There’s just something about “Watching The Wheels” by John Lennon that puts me in a great mood to just hang out and not think about anything. Just live life and see what happens. It’s one of the best songs of his career and, unfortunately, one of the most under-appreciated. But, that may be good. That way it means a little more to the few of us who have latched onto it.

But that’s not exactly what this movie is about. Some have called it a coming of age story. It’s not. It’s a coming of senses story. It centers around Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas), a college English prof who is going through somewhat of a mid-life crisis. Just a partial list of his problems: a) He’s diddling his bosses wife (Frances McDormand), b) he’s in deep smit with one of his students (Katie Holmes) who happens to be renting a room from him, c) he’s trying to keep his editor (Robert Downey, Jr.) at bay since his 250-300 page new book has gone over by about 2,000 pages, and d) his wife just left him this morning because he wasn’t there for her. On top of all that, he now has to babysit James Leer (Tobey Maguire), a death obsessed student from one of his writing classes. This kid knows every Hollywood suicide there is and is enamored by the fact that he’s fallen in with Dr. Tripp’s crowd. Of course this was a total accident (we think). James just happened to be at the same party as Grady one night. Then they had a little adventure with a jacket belonging to Marilyn Monroe, a dog, Grady’s girlfriend’s bedroom and a gun. Oops.

Throughout the film everyone gets tangled in Grady’s messes while he’s just trying to make his wife feel better about leaving him and tell his pregnant girlfriend that he loves her. James is just trying to be with his hero while never revealing too much of himself. Or maybe he’s just trying to get his book published. I, personally, think it’s the former, though. He’s genuinely touched by Grady’s concern for him and Grady seems to have some kind of connection with this weird introvert. He also accidentally corrupts him with all sorts of new habits (drinking, smoking pot, homosexual editors…the usual).

This is a hard movie to sum up in case you haven’t noticed. It was also apparently pretty hard to adapt to a screenplay. I liked the movie a lot, but it wasn’t as affecting as it probably could have been. In a way that’s good, though. At least it didn’t go overboard sappy like some of these kinds of movies do. Chalk up one more winner for director Curtis Hanson. Sure, it’s not L.A. Confidential (his first film), but what is?

The performances are pretty damn good. Douglas has finally hit a role that fits his age. He’s been so caught up with the fact that he’s got a young woman with him in real life that he can’t seem to see that he shouldn’t have them in his movie life. A Perfect Murder? What the hell was that? Just another hackneyed job at a Hitchcock classic. Crap. He’s made the occasional good move (The American President, The Game), but even those can’t make up for things like Disclosure. He does a fine job as a man who can’t seem to make choices for himself. He just lets life go by while he keeps working on the same book for years that goes in so many different directions that even he doesn’t know what it’s about anymore. Just like his life.

Tobey Maguire was, of course, great as the young man who has all sorts of issues that he can’t admit to. He needs someone in his life, he just doesn’t really know who. It’s certainly not his parents who he alternately accuses of being incestuous and locking him up in the cellar. Tobey is one of those few young actors who have the “quiet intensity” thing down. Sure he seems to play the same roles over and over, but he’s so good at those roles that I can’t wait to see him in the next one.

Tobey’s Ice Storm co-star is pretty good as an average college chick who seems to be hot for teacher. (I hate using a Van Halen song in my reviews, but it fits so well.) She may not be the best actress in the world, but she’s certainly not bad. And, I’m sorry to all of my female friends who seem to think that she’s ugly, but she’s beautiful. Maybe that’s why she gets cast so often, but there is some talent behind the pretty face. We just need to find it. Maybe in her next role where she gets to stretch and become a cheating fiancee’ in The Gift.

Frances McDormand was maybe a little underused in her role, but she was damn good in it. The one I’m worried about is Robert Downey, Jr. This guy’s a great actor, but he can play roles like this in his sleep. He’s just the crazy gay editor who wants to get both Grady’s book and James. (“I can see myself inside him.” Uh. Yeah. Thanks, Rob.) Hopefully he gets to stretch a little more in Black And White. It’d be nice to see him in a role with some meat.

One of the best things about the rest of the movie was the music. Like L.A. Confidential, the music was very important to the story. From the John Lennon song to Bob Dylan’s heartbreakingly realistic paean to mid-life “Not Dark Yet” to Neil Young’s nearly haunting “Old Man.” Yeah, that’s a choice that seems obvious. “Old man, look at my life. I’m a lot like you were.” I guess they couldn’t help but put it in. The only bad thing about the music is the fact that sometimes the songs end very abruptly. It almost sounds as if they forgot to overdub them onto certain parts of scenes. Surprisingly amateurish for this movie.

Very good film, if not a great one. Definitely worth the time and money to go see it, and it may even make you think about some of the choices that you’ve made in your life. Maybe even make you start making some choices. A few more movies like this and I may make some for myself.