Copyright © 2000 by Michael
Segers, All rights reserved
Cast:
Grady
Tripp - Michael Douglas
Sara Gaskell - Frances McDormand
James Leer - Tobey Maguire
Terry Crabtree - Robert Downey Jr.
Hannah Green - Katie Holmes
Walter Gaskell - Richard Thomas
"Q" - Rip Torn
Director
- Curtis Hanson
Writers
- Michael Chabon (novel), Steven Kloves
Rated
R for language, drug use, sexual scenes, and cruelty to animals
On
a recent weekend when I had my snout in the popcorn, trying to get through a
dreadful comedy (and we are having some dreadful comedies lately), a wonderful
little film sneaked into the megaplex. This weekend, facing the prospect of two
teenage romances (which may be fine films but are nonetheless teenage romances),
I decided to catch up with Wonder Boys. And I am so glad that I did. You’ll be glad you saw it, too,
if you can get past the blind pit bull that gets shot, the elongated
transvestite who travels with a tuba, and the jacket worn by Marilyn Monroe that
gets stolen from an English professor. (English professors make that kind of
money? Fiction is stranger than truth.) Believe me, and make an effort to get
past or get over them. Wonder Boys is full of wonders, beginning with a
wonderfully evocative and raspy ballad performed by Bob Dylan that reminds me of
his performances with Roy Orbison. The story is set in a Pittsburgh that reminds
me of W.C. Fields’s proposed epitaph ("I’d rather be in
Pittsburgh”)—a dirty but snow and rain washed old burg that matches Grady
Tripp’s (Douglas) rumpled, weary self. I keep using the word
"remind," but this is a film rich in texture and echoes.
Tripp
is the star of a college English Department, even though he has published
nothing in years. His current novel reaches more than two thousand single-spaced
(pre-word-processor) pages, winding on and on like Penelope’s web, so that he
can avoid the inevitable. Meanwhile, his third wife has left him, and his
girlfriend Sara (McDormand), chancellor of the college and wife of the English
department chairman (Thomas), has just found out she is pregnant. The most
talented young writer in Grady’s classes is James Leer (Maguire), who carries
a pistol and apparently a grudge against the world. Terry Crabtree (Downey)
shows up, down from New York, needing to see Grady’s novel, since his career
as an editor is on the skids. Let the games begin.
And
here's a game for you. Think about all the ways that Wonder Boys and American
Beauty are similar. Both involve a middle-aged man narrating the story of a
crucial part of his life. Both tell of a disintegrating marriage and adultery.
Both middle-aged protagonists have some connection with an attractive younger
woman, smoke pot, and have a connection with a young man, toward whom they have,
to some degree, almost a paternal relationship. Wonder Boys almost seems to be a kinder, gentler American
Beauty.
American
Beauty, of course was the rose without thorns to the voters of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the folks who present the Oscars®,
picking up five of the major awards, while The Matrix took four of the
technical awards. Topsy-Turvy,
which came out to some good, hearty buzz early on, picked up a couple of equally
appropriate awards for costume and makeup.
For
Best Actor in a Leading Role, the choice had been narrowed to Kevin Spacey (Beauty)
and Denzel Washington (The Hurricane). Washington's performance should
have won him some special award for performance of a lifetime, but Academy
members chose Spacey's eerie filling out of a rather spacey character. I don't
know how this happened, but I had not seen two of the films whose leading
actresses were nominated. I was pulling for Julianne Moore, but I have no
problems with Hilary Swank's recognition for her amazing performance in Boys
Don't Cry.
Angelina
Jolie, it had been assumed, would be recognized as Best Actress in a Supporting
Role, and she was. The most interesting competition for acting honors was for
Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Michael Caine of The Cider House Rules
(old Hollywood), Tom Cruise of Magnolia (middle-aged Hollywood), and Jude
Law of The Talented Mr. Ripley (young Hollywood) were joined by two
magically gifted newcomers, both of whom played magically gifted characters,
Michael Clarke Duncan of The Green Mile and Haley Joel Osment of The
Sixth Sense. I wanted them all to win, and in his acceptance speech, Michael
Caine convinced us that they all did. So, where is his award for gallantry?
Robin
Williams brought down the house with "Blame Canada" from South Park,
title censored for a family-friend freenet. Andrzeu Wajda brought some noble
thoughts of the "great passions of the heart," and Billy Crystal was
too much. I mean that literally, since the show stretched to four hours. (Which
country gets blamed for this?)
Although
the common wisdom is that films released this early in the year are forgotten by
the time the Academy votes, you may be hearing about Wonder Boys this
time next year. This film has some of the best work Douglas has ever done. And
the same goes for McDormand, who shows a range that I’ve never seen in her
work. Downey might well do his part to make the 2000 supporting actors’
competition as intriguing as what we’ve just seen. Now, if someone could just
bring Maguire to life….
There
have been lots of words thrown around about this year’s Academy Awards, from
the missing statues to missing sure things. The most thought-provoking piece I
read was the overview
of films of 1999
In
the notes that I jotted down during the Academy Awards ceremony, I find these
words, "wonderful dysfunctional family called the human race." Who
said them? About what? I don’t know, but the words are an appropriate review
of the nominees for best picture of the year—stories of a whistle-blower, a
strangely but painfully gifted little boy, a strangely but painfully gifted
healer accused of murder, an addicted abortionist, and a poster boy for male
menopause. No matter what, the movies again serve as our laboratories for
experiencing this wonderful dysfunctional family that we are all part of. Keep
your feet dry (hard to do in the Pittsburgh shown in Wonder Boys) and
your heart full of noble thoughts, no matter how many rose petals fall on you.
The Rovin' and Ravin' Film Reviews