Drama,Comedy
Germany,United Kingdom,Japan,United States of America
Wonder Boys is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by Curtis Hanson, based on the novel of the same title by Michael Chabon. The film stars Michael Douglas as Grady Tripp, a novelist and English professor at a Pittsburgh university who struggles to finish the follow-up to his award-winning novel. Tobey Maguire plays James Leer, a talented young writer who becomes a student of Grady's and accompanies him on a wild and eventful weekend.
As the weekend progresses, Grady's personal and professional troubles begin to pile up. He is having an affair with the university chancellor, Sara Gaskell (played by Frances McDormand), and accidentally kills her husband's dog while trying to get rid of a marijuana joint. Meanwhile, James becomes increasingly erratic and unstable, revealing a dark side to his writing and behavior.
Grady also has to deal with the arrival of his editor, Terry Crabtree (played by Robert Downey Jr.), who is expecting to see a completed manuscript from him. However, Grady is still struggling to write anything substantial, and instead becomes embroiled in a series of strange encounters and misadventures with James and the other characters.
As the weekend comes to a close, Grady finally has a breakthrough and begins to write again, inspired by the chaos and unpredictability of his experiences. James, meanwhile, is revealed to have a troubled past and is taken away by the police after an incident involving a gun.
Wonder Boys received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for its performances and writing. Michael Douglas won a Golden Globe Award for his performance as Grady Tripp.
