The Robert Downey Jr. Film Guide: Wonder Boys (2000)

“God knows I don’t exactly fit the new corporate profile.”
“Which is?”
“Competence.”

A random transvestite and Tobey Maguire.

Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes

Michael Douglas in Avengers: Endgame. Curtis Hanson’s Lucky You. Katie Holmes in The Singing Detective. Tobey Maguire in Tropic Thunder. Frances McDormand in Short Cuts.

There’s like three generations in this, too, there’s the Tripp, the Crabtree and the Leer generations. I feel like a dinosaur compared to Tobey and I see him as a super-talented young guy ... I guess that’s why this film is so poignant in a way. You can experience that ‘wonder boy’ phenomenon regardless of what generation you are in. It reminds me of people in the ‘80s who were living high off the hog in New York and L.A. They were at all the clubs and had all the new clothes and so on. Now, 10 years later, they’re still wearing the same stuff and still trying to ride on the same coattails, except that it’s just not working anymore. They really haven’t done anything for 10 years. I think that’s how it is with Grady and Crabtree. They’re both in crisis ... [Curtis Hanson’s] work is very refined stuff, regardless if he’s doing a thriller or a period noir piece or whatever, he brings that same level of fine-tuning and it’s just super thoughtful ... For three days, [my character] can pretty much drink and take pills and smoke pot and make huge mistakes, and in the midst of all that he still has this genuine talent.

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
It’s a rather faithful adaptation of this novel, with much of the dialogue coming directly from the book.

Present day (2000), Pittsburgh.

This film inspired the song Hannah on Downey’s album, The Futurist.

Released in theaters 25 February 2000. On DVD in Region 1, 2 and 4.

Argentina: Fin de Semana de Locos (Weekend of Crazies)
Brazil: Garotos Incríveis (Amazing Boys)
Croatia: Zlatni De?ki (Golden Boys)
Poland: Cudowni chlopcy (Wonder Boys)
Portugal: Prodígios (Prodigies)
Spain: Jovenes Prodigiosos (Prodigious Youths)

81% Fresh | 124 Reviews

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: In a movie in which every other character is vague, ambivalent or drug-addled, Downey plays Crabtree with crispness and invention.

Joe Queenan, The Guardian: Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Rip Torn and Robert Downey Jr are all far better actors than Michael Douglas and discreetly outperform him here ... Robert Downey Jr is perfect as the jaded, sexually perplexed, morally depleted book editor who has flown in for the weekend.