tcmay-1 Every year or so I see this film appear on one of my satellite channels. And nearly every time I am drawn in to watch it again. It just never gets tiresome.Probably the best performance I've seen by Michael Douglas (and I correctly predicted he would win the Oscar for "Wall Street," just as I did for Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man" either the year earlier or the year later...my only winning streak).Performances by everyone else are also excellent: Katie Holmes, Rip Torn, Iron Man, Spiderman, even John-Boy.A sweet film. (And "sweet" is not a term I use lightly.)

juneebuggy This was pretty good. How could it not be with the calibre of actors involved. Its foremost a character study and then a comedy -although I didn't find it particularly funny but it is a "fun" story if that makes sense(?) Michael Douglas plays a burnt out professor trying to finish his next "great" novel. He's also having an affair and over one weekend his world implodes.Tobey Maguire is incredible as the ever elusive James, one of his students and I also liked Robert Downey here. This was made back before he got so full of himself (Ironman) and he's excellent as an editor with questionable taste in (tall) women. The blind dog storyline was shocking and not so nice, I enjoyed the Marilyn Monroe jacket idea'though. Katie Holmes was completely forgettable. 05.03.14

Foxbarking I was the assistant manager of a Crown Book store when "Wonder Boys" was in the theater. Before then, I had never read any Michael Chabon books or really had even heard of him (which is surprising since I was a book store manager). My manager knew that I was gay and he recommended the film to me because of the gay characters. It seems funny in retrospect because I generally get offended when someone assumes I will like something just because there are some gay overtones or characters in it.I saw "Wonder Boys" in the perfect setting. It was an afternoon showing in January, in an empty theater on a cold and snowy day. I had no idea what to expect but absolutely loved the movie. All of the actors were phenomenal. The story was great and involving. I fell in love with the soundtrack.The only thing that confused me is that it made no sense to me that the movie was called "Wonder Boys." It was only upon reading the Michael Chabon novel that it was revealed that the 2000 plus page book Grady was writing was titled "Wonder Boys," as it was about several siblings with the surname of Wonder.I watch this great movie several times a year. The movie alone is worth watching for the great scenes with Vernon Hardapple. "Quit calling me Vernon!" The best thing this movie did, though, was connect me to the books of Michael Chabon. Though "Wonder Boys" the novel is extremely different than "Wonder Boys" the movie, they stand together as my favorite movie and book. I recommend both.

itamarscomix Alternating between an oddball comedy, a surreal thriller and a meditation on the nature of writing, Wonder Boys is an original and thought-provoking film that doesn't quite reach its goal. It's unclassifiable and virtually indescribable, yet all the stylistic tools it uses seem to come directly from any one of the genres it's comprised of; it doesn't do enough to create its own unique style, and therefore fails to focus and become a unique non-genre piece. In other words, it feels too often like a mainstream Hollywood affair, when it's anything but.Wonder Boys is adapted from a very early work by Michael Chabon, to my taste one of the finest American novelists of the last twenty years, and his lack of experience is felt in the script as it is in the novel. It's filled with lots of great ideas, but it lacks in that ever-important focus - and so remains unsatisfying. It's an interesting movie that's worth checking out, especially for those interested in writing and authors, but it's not likely to become an all-time favorite.