Wonder Boys

One of Curtis Hanson's best reviewed films was also one that audiences stayed away from in droves, 2000's Wonder Boys.

Michael Douglas stars as Grady Tripp, a pot smoking novelist/creative writing professor. When he was younger he wrote a game changing novel and has tried to recapture that magic ever since. Now working on his fourth novel, Grady finds himself in a writing slump. It doesn't help matters that he has an editor, Robert Downey, Jr., who's breathing down his neck to finish the book. He is also having an affair with the Chancellor's wife, Francis McDormand. But when an oddball student of his, Toby Maguire, turns in a story as an assignment that is a masterpiece, Grady doesn't know weather to help the kid get it published, or be envious of him.

This is a smart and funny film. It baffles me that it has never found an audience. After great reviews,the movie was released a second time in hopes of becoming a hit.Still no luck.

Douglas turns in probably his best performance. And the supporting cast is terrific as well, especially Downey, who supplies a lot of the comic relief.

To write about great writers, you yourself have to be a great writer. And Wonder Boys was written by a master of adult stories, Steven Kloves. Kloves also wrote The Fabulous Baker Boys and Racing With The Moon. Hanson, who had done mostly thrillers up to this point, handles the material with just the right touch. Elizabeth McGovern, who Hanson directed in The Bedroom Window, suggested he should do a film with Kloves, with whom she worked with on Racing With The Moon.

Wonder Boys is a smart, character driven film and a great showcase for Douglas.

It's available on dvd.