A movie in which I'm not rooting for Michael Douglas to die... at least, not very much

reviewed Sun, 11 Mar 2001

I'm not sure why Michael Douglas didn't inspire the frantic enmity in me during Wonder Boys that he usually does.  Probably because he was playing an addled, shabby professor who looked his age and wasn't pawing at some girl barely old enough to drive.  Probably also because the women in Wonder Boys weren't depicted as man-eaters, man-killers, or man-haters, meaning Douglas couldn't be depicted as the unjustly persecuted male who stands up to female deviousness and deviance.  So -- while I won't claim I would have been upset if a safe had dropped on Douglas's head in the final scene -- the smarmily happy ending didn't annoy me as much as a Michael Douglas happy ending usually does.

I enjoyed Wonder Boys but can't think of much to say about it.  The cast is wonderful, though the supporting players -- including Frances McDormand, Robert Downey Jr., Tobey Maguire, and Katie Holmes -- get too little screen time, the better to wallow in Michael Douglas's post-mid-life crisis.  The film is well written and funny, and it meanders amiably along without much of a goal in sight.  A nice, low-key little movie that I would certainly recommend.

Now, let me salute my own Wonder Boys:  the Duke Blue Devils, ACC regular-season champions for the 5th consecutive year and tournament champions for the 3rd consecutive year.  Go Devils!

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