Film: Wonder Boys (2000)

 DVD: Enhanced for 16:9

Review: This well-written movie takes place over a wintery weekend in Pittsburgh as an English professor, played by Michael Douglas, struggles to finish his second novel while dealing with the end of his marriage, his girlfriend's pregnancy and a suicidal student. Robert Downey Jr. is great as his New York editor who arrives to check on the progress of his novel.

Quotes:
"Why did you keep writing this book if you didn't even know what it was about?"
"I couldn't stop."

"Shit, James. You shot Dr. Gaskell's dog."
"I had to! Didn't I?"
"Couldn't you have just pulled him off me?"

"I wish you hadn't shot my girlfriend's dog. Even though Poe and I weren't exactly what you'd call simpatico, that's no reason he should've taken two in the chest."

"So there it was. Somewhere in the night, a Manhattan book editor was prowling the streets of Pittsburgh; best-selling author at his side, dead dog in his trunk."

"Grady, you know how in class you're always telling us that writers make choices?"
"Yeah."
"And even though you're book is really beautiful, I mean, amazingly beautiful, it's... it's at times... it's... very detailed. You know, with the genealogies of everyone's horses, and the dental records, and so on. And... I could be wrong, but it sort of reads in places like you didn't make any choices. At all. And I was just wondering if it might not be different if... if when you wrote you weren't always... under the influence."
"Well... thank you for the thought, but shocking as it may sound, I am not the first writer to sip a little weed. Furthermore, it might surprise you to know that one book I wrote, as you say, 'under the influence,' just happened to win a little something called the Pen Award. Which, by the way, I accepted under the influence."

"Naturally you have copies."
"I have an alternate version of the first chapter."

"You didn't happen to call our house last night, did you?"
"I think I might have, yes."
"What do you think you might have said?"
"I think I might have said I was in love with you... He told you?"
"He told me."
"And what did you say?"
"I said it didn't sound like you."

4 out of 5 Stars

My Movie Ratings System

The five star system is my favorite way to rate movies. A four star system has no easy selection for an average movie and a three star system is just too simplistic for me.

5 Stars - A masterpiece of its genre. The direction, acting, music, design, special effects and story are firing on all cylinders to create a perfect film.

4 Stars - A great movie with a few minor flaws, like a weak subplot or distracting castmember. Sometimes an average movie with one genius aspect to it (thrilling plot, an award-level acting performance, or amazing chemistry between the leads, etc.) can earn it 4 stars.

3 Stars - An average movie, worth a watch, but forgettable afterwards. It still works despite flaws like a clichéd story, uneven pacing, predictible mystery or unfocused direction. Some films burdened by unfair expectations or too avant-garde at the time may need to be seen again before they can be appreciated. Films that get better with repeat viewings can move up the rankings over time and vice-versa.

2 Stars - A bad movie with enough redeeming qualities to keep me watching. It has an entertaining actor or the story has hooked me enough to get to the end despite bad acting, shoddy special effects, plot holes or weak action scenes. (This rating includes the "So Bad it is Good" films.)

1 Star - A horrible film, so bad or boring that I fall asleep, walk out or fast-forward to the end so at least I can get some closure.

(Most of the films in my collection are at least 4 or 5 stars. The only exceptions are three star films I own for nostalgia reasons. I loved them when I was younger, but they may have not aged very well. There are also a few films that make it due to one amazing scene, like the Christopher Walken/Dennis Hopper scene in "True Romance" or the Europe sidetrip in "Rules of Attraction".)