Review of Wonder Boys (2000) by Olivia R — 14 Jan 2010

The Oscar nod for best adapted screenplay was well deserved in the case of this retelling of Michael Chabon's poignantly funny novel that is faithful to the book but deviates in all the right places. Some characters are removed entirely and others are given much more to sink their teeth into, which works brilliantly given the caliber of each actor in a leading or supporting role.

Michael Douglas is the right combination of charming and rumpled as a college professor whose acclaimed novel is now a distant memory, perhaps coming closest to showing the side of himself that made Catherine Zeta Jones fall for a man 25 years her senior.

Tobey Maguire is pitch perfect as an undergrad who can't help but maintain a wide-eyed innocence amidst the debauchery that ensues once he takes up with Douglas' Grady Tripp. Robert Downey Jr. is excellent as always in the role of Tripp's scoundrel of an editor who takes a liking to Maguire's character. Katie Holmes and Frances McDormand turn in wonderfully layered performances as the two women in Grady's life (at least the two that we see, we never meet Grady's wife, who has left him at the beginning of the movie).

Overall, a funny and unique character study.