athena24

There is a lot to like about 'Wonder Boys': very good acting, quirky, funny situations and nice camera work. Despite all that the movie as a whole doesn't work. Maybe it's because the characters lack a better background story. Maybe because the transition from one scene to another is not too clear.

It is still makes a nice watch due to the quality acting, primarily from Michael Douglas and Robert Downey Jr and several very funny scenes. It is still a Curtis Hanson movie and quality is preserved. We see the grainy images as in '8 mile' and the object and facial closeups, but the story lacks coherency.

In an era where half of the movies are hyper-infused with CGI and the other half looks cheap, this is a real treat. This is a well scripted, well acted and wonderfully shot movie with frequent touches of creativity. It is such a pleasure to see a movie so beautifully crafted, where it takes just a few shots and several lines to understand the characters.

The story is not perfect, but the storytelling was extremely skillful as the director seemed to care about all the little details. I felt that I was treated with respect.