Wonder Boys Reviews and Ratings



  • November 19, 2009
    As fangirl I really liked Downy jr./Maguire interaction.
    But as viewer it's really too indipendent in the bad meaning of the word.
  • November 18, 2009
    It starts off strong, but then goes nowhere really quick. Michael Douglas tries his best in this average coming-of-age story, but it's not enough to save the movie. I felt it to be a little bit on the pretentious side, but it had some endearing moments.
  • November 13, 2009
    Best Adapted Screenplay 2000 - Best Actress in a supporting role 2000
  • October 17, 2009



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    The film was originally released in February of 2000 to almost universal praise (especially for the performance of Michael Douglas) but with very little fanfare. Paramount, the film's distributor, decided to re-release the film that November with a different marketing campaign that highlighted its strong supporting cast, and hopes that it would garner some Oscar nominations, despite Paramount Vice Chairman Rob Friedman's acknowledgment that no studio had ever successfully re-released a picture that initially flopped.


  • October 3, 2009
    I have to say that is was good .
    I laughted a lot more than i thought i was going to .
    Frances Mcdormand , Micheal Douglas , Robert Downey Jr. & Tobey Maguire where all very good . I have to admit that Tobey Magiure suprised me in this , i am not ususlay a big fan but he was r...( read more)ealy good .
  • September 18, 2009
    A smart comedy with countable unbelievable quotes. Douglas is hilarious.

    61/100
  • September 14, 2009
    A really good little indie film, i think its my favorate Douglas film. Tobey Maguire isn't even a little bit annoying, so it can't be bad eh!
  • September 11, 2009
    One of my all time favourite films, brilliant cast, great dialogue, both funny and touching!
  • August 13, 2009
    Based on a book and as always I like the book better then the film. But good acting, specially by Frances McDormand (she is ALWAYS good), Toby Maguire does a very good performance and Michael Douglas is good.
  • August 2, 2009
    Michael Douglas portrays the pothead professor/writer Grady Tripp struggling with writer's block in this brilliant, comical film. Tripp befriends one of his students James Leer(Tobey Maguire) who he believes in as a writer. There are some humorous situations involving Tripp and J...( read more)ames trying to find a jacket once owned by Marilyn Monroe, a college girl and student of his boarding at his home who is quite enamored with him, his publisher portrayed by Robert Downey Jr, and the colossal book he's been writing that even he can't explain. There's a lot going on in this film, so it's rather difficult to summarize in a brief review. I believe this 2000 film is definately one of the better, funniest films of the twenty first century thus far.
  • July 19, 2009
    Damn hilarious movie. The smartest written movie I've seen in a while. What is most surprising, is how much it does not suck, or go over the top. With a cast like this, it's easy for someone to be skeptical.

    What I loved most about this film, was the absurdity. So ridiculous and...( read more) absurd, that it becomes hilarious. I have always been a fan of Michael Douglas. I see now how it was so easy for him to be casted in the part for King of California. Tobey Maguire is an actor I can seriously do without though, but was actually really impressed with his acting. Robert Downey Jr. has always been awesome, although he sometimes has the tendency to sign on for shitty movies, was still awesome.

    So the movie is about writers. Has good writing, good acting. Funny, introspective, and somewhat depressing.
  • July 14, 2009
    "People are crazy and times are strange... I'm locked in tight, I'm out of range.. I used to care, but things have changed", I want to watch this one because of Bob Dylan's incredible song!
  • July 11, 2009
    Thought less of this the first time I saw it, but repeat viewings have made the tidy ending less annoying.
  • July 10, 2009
    Again he plays a gay man...
  • June 16, 2009
    Good film, good performances.
  • April 18, 2009
    It really was a decent movie but the characters never did developed to it's fullness, everything was so open and mysterious. It has has some rather weird funny moments that were the cheers of the film. Grady Tripp is a professor/writer living in Pittsburgh who is struggling with ...( read more)writer's block. Whilst doing this, he also manages to get the chancellor pregnant. In the meantime, he and a college student, James Leer are trying to find a rare jacket once owned by Marilyn Monroe, and a college girl, Hannah Green boarding with Grady has a bit of a crush on him.
  • April 10, 2009
    Another charasmatic winning role for Robert. He infuses Terry with all his easy-going charm and refreshing light-heartedness while projecting his very human frailty throughout.
  • March 15, 2009
    Everybody likes and i don't.
  • March 10, 2009
    I like Tobey Maguire
  • March 10, 2009
    Not very interesting.
  • March 1, 2009
    Everybody likes, but i don't...
  • February 24, 2009
    a wonderful movie about all the things you can learn while at college outside of a classroom, regardless of age. michael douglas turns in a great performance as the dope smoking, perhaps washed-up writer & professor grady tripp. the movie is humorous, insightful, quirky and profo...( read more)und, and it's one of my favorites.
  • February 22, 2009
    An absolutely amazing story, filled with extremely likeable characters. A University professor takes a young writer under his wing and hilarity ensues. Robert Downey Jr. is the funniest man alive. This is a funny and truley uplifting film.
  • February 6, 2009
    Wonder Boys is a cracking film! If a movie can make me appreciate the talents of Michael Douglas then it has to be good, Downey Jr, Holmes, Maguire MacDormand all put in sterling performances in a perfectly written comedy drama. Curtis Hanson has picked a cherry here which i thi...( read more)nk is very much so underated.
  • February 2, 2009
    A nice film, maybe a little crazy there, a little stoned here but still an enjoyable watch.
  • January 28, 2009
    weird in some kind of way, but felt so real!!!! really loved it!!!
  • January 25, 2009
    WIDESCREEN. Mejora con cada nueva mirada. / Gets better with every new look.
  • January 23, 2009
    "Undependable. Unpredictable. Unforgettable."

    In this comedy, a middle-aged man juggles his problems with women, literature, and a career, while a younger man chases the artifact of his dreams. Pittsburgh college professor Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) is currently sing...( read more)le following his divorce from his third wife; after publishing an acclaimed first novel, Grady has been working on a follow-up, but he's been sidelined by a severe case of writer's block. Grady has more than his writing career to think about; his affair with one of the (married) chancellors at the University of Pittsburgh (Frances McDormand), has resulted in her pregnancy, while Hannah (Katie Holmes), a student boarding at Grady's house, has developed a crush on him. While Grady is obsessed with his book, one of his students (Tobey Maguire) has an obsession of his own: finding a jacket once owned by Marilyn Monroe.

    Review
    Michael Douglas reminds us all that despite having been in nothing but tosh for a decade or so, he is still a pretty good actor. He plays Grady, a college professor who's midlife crisis reaches a climax on the weekend his wife leaves him, his editor is in town and his mistress has some big news. Highly enjoyable comedy-drama, with an excellent supporting cast (particularly Tobey Maguire). Not life-changing, but well worth a look.
  • January 21, 2009
    It's a brilliant story, wonderful characters with real depth and complexity, which is rare to find in modern movies. It's not going to blow your mind in terms of how you look at your own life although it might make you consider a few things, but that really doesn't matter, someti...( read more)mes a good story is all you need and the happy ending manages to avoid the overwhelming aroma of cheese you would typically associate with such an occurrence.
  • January 21, 2009
    well umn just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a good movie 2 watch..i think that michael douglas plays a good part as the professor in this movie...i think that robert downey jr plays a good part as well in this movie...i think that the director of this Drama,...( read more) Comedy movie had done a really good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie its a good Drama, Comedy movie 2 watch n its really enjoyable throughout this movie
  • January 21, 2009
    Michael Douglas plays Professor Grady Tripp who is grappling with his difficult second novel, when an enigmatic student and his drug addled publisher take him on a journey of self discovery over one surreal weekend. Probably best described as Fear And Loathing for the leather elb...( read more)ow patch set, The Wonder Boys is a stoner film with a difference. Sometimes when a writer writes about a writer writing, it can be horribly pretentious and self indulgent. But sometimes, if done with the right level of wit and self awareness, it can be a hugely enjoyable diversion; Adaptation is one example and this is another. It does skirt around the borders of self indulgence, but Douglas has never been less obnoxious and his supporting cast, particularly Robert Downey Jr in his familiar guise as likable self-absorbed hedonist are all good fun. The dialogue makes a decent fist of emulating the witty banter of the screwball comedies of the golden age and although it does descend into the usual feelgood sappiness by the conclusion, it takes you on an refreshingly offbeat ride along the way.
  • January 9, 2009
    Your typical writer-who's-having-issues-with-his-book-and-his-life movie. But still good, because it's Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire and Robert.
  • December 29, 2008
    I llloved it!!
  • December 29, 2008
    Maybe at two o'clock at night I'm not very good at judging movies, but this didn't seem much.
  • December 28, 2008
    First indication this will not be the gut buster it is advertised as is director Curtis Hanson. Thrillers, yes. Comdey, no.
  • October 13, 2008
    Starting out somewhat slow and uncertain where it wants to go, this movie about an author / professor with writer's block while discovering a writing talent, gets better by the minute with a really quirky humor and characters. The acting is good (there is Robert Downey Jr. involv...( read more)ed, duh!), but I wasn't entirely sure what the film was trying to say for a pretty long time. That didn't keep me from being amused, especially by the second half.
  • October 3, 2008
    This movie redeemed Tobey Maguire for me.
  • September 28, 2008
    Absolutely magnificent. Brilliant and outstanding. A wonderful and enjoyablely entertaining movie. It's a hilarious piece of work. Written, directed and performed wounderously. Director, Curtis Hansons best film since L.A Confidential. He truly understands the comedy and the dram...( read more)a of the film and knows how to place them nicely. Perfect performances. Michael Douglas is terrific. It's his most charasmatic and remarkable performance ever. Tobey Maguire is subtle and great, a charming and ethusiastic young talent. Robert Downey Jr. acts with great comic flair.
  • September 5, 2008
    very enjoyable and easy to watch
  • September 4, 2008
    Very funny film with excellent performances all around.
  • August 23, 2008
    a bit complicated but in the end, a good movie
  • August 7, 2008
    Review will be written when/if re-watched (Probability: Zero).

    First viewing: 29.03.2001
  • August 3, 2008
    Surprisingly great movie. well acted all around. Actually I need to see it again. Plus Tobey McGuire is too cute.

Summary


Wonder Boys Summary