Wonder Boys (2000)

Director: Curtis Hanson

Writers: Michael Chabon, Steve Kloves

Stars: Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand

Runtime: 107min

PLOT: An English professor deals with many problems in his life that includes his wife leaving him and the various issues that his friends and associates involve him in.

REVIEW: The movie is a very close representation of campus life. This is not accurate because of the campus politics or intellectual debates, but rather because it shows two important facts; the first one being students will come and go and; the second, a lot of faculty members remain stuck in the graduate-student mode for many years. Michael Douglas portrayed the character of one such faculty, giving his best performance in many years. The rest of the characters have more or less equal importance that is especially since Grady is depressed and high on marijuana. What this means is that when Grady is looking at them, they are represented as problems, and when they are not around, he can forget about them. 

The legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan composed several soundtracks for the film along with nine other singer-songwriters. The songwriter provided one new composition for the film titled "Things Have Changed", which is undeniably the best song in the film and the Academy Award for Best Original Song proves that. 

Overall, the film has a rather touching story about a person who is trying to be a good teacher. The movie included many things from memorabilia to guns and cops, but did not revolve around any of those. An honest story, with honest portrayal by the actors makes this film commendable. 

Reviewed by Syed Ahnaf Sadeed