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Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:02:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: Marc Desbiens <marcdesbiens@yahoo.com>
Subject: [MV] Wonder Boys - 2000
***** Marc ;-) ** Some spoilers **
Gauti wrote : Hi group,
When it started, I had a feeling it was going to
> be a total
> downer, what with Tobey Maguire's depressive character
> and the
> general outpouring of negativity.
**** I agree the film was a bit depressing when it started
but then it got better along the way ...
>
> But from then on things just totally picked up, and at
> about the
> halfway point, it suddenly struck me that I was
> absolutely in love
> with these characters. Every single character here is so
> well
> thought out and beautiful in their own way;
**** I liked everyone except Downey Jr., his off screen
antics were influencing me, such a shame because he is
talented ... I liked that reference to "Natural born
killers" too ... when he is in that bar and they play a
song that is on the NBK soundtrack, as you know he appears
in NBK too ... ;-)
even the
> small roles
> sparkle, like the transvestite that Robert Downey Jr.
> picks up on the
> airplane -- a character that initially looked like a
> two-dimensional
> caricature, but who in the end turned out to be charming
> and sad and
> weary and wise all at the same time. Just beautiful.
**** Yes, it surprised me ... the transvestite was
obviously a superfreak (like in the song !) but there was
more to her/him than that of course ... That scene with
Douglas in the car was powerful.
>
> And the fact that every performance is nothing short of
> flawless
> doesn't hurt either. Michael Douglas has gained new
> respect in my
> eyes after taking this role; he allows himself a
> vulnerability that
> I've never before seen in him, and needless to say the
> movie benefits
> immensely from it. Frances McDormand, my favorite
> actress, is
> heartbreakingly good also, proving once again her
> immeasurable range -
> - this character is radically different from her snappily
> righteous,
> overprotective mother and her cozy but astute small-town
> policewoman,
> but she pulls this one off with the same effortless,
> no-nonsense
> skill that's become her hallmark. Young Tobey Maguire
> hits all the
> right notes in a sweet, sweet performance,
***** So true ... top notch performances right *there* ...
Hanson also had those good actors in "LA Confidential" of
course ... another 3.5/5 film for me. He just misses the
"bull's eye" for me.
and Robert
> Downey Jr.
> lights up the screen every time he graces the camera with
> his
> presence.
**** Lights up as in "tilted" like a pinball machine ? ;-)
As for Katie Holmes...she could be the worst
> actress in
> the world, and I would still hunt down everything she's
> ever been in
> and watch it religiously. But that's just me. Then
> again, it's
> probably not just me. Heh.
**** mmmmm .. oh yeah !
>
> I simply can't say enough good things about this movie.
> I'll list
> one more and then stop, so as not to risk turning into a
> pile of mush
> right here. This film has one of those senses of humor
> that creeps
> up behind you and tickles the hair on the back of your
> neck instead
> of bludgeoning you over the head. I can't remember
> laughing as much
> at a movie in a long time.
**** I laughed a few times ... I wouldn't say it was a very
funny movie overall though ... watching downey running
after those pages was sumthin' else ... also Douglas
calling that black guy "Vernon" all the time and trying to
get away from him ... Dead dog in the trunk of the car ...
;-)
Example: the hilarious scene
> where
> Maguire takes his first sip of strong liquor and spits
> out a pill,
> which promptly sticks itself to Douglas's lapel. The
> camera makes no
> effort to point this out at the moment it happens, opting
> instead to
> focus on Douglas's exasperated face. This is so
> infinitely funnier
> than if they'd gone with a close-up of the pill during
> its moment of
> landing. "Ha, ha, ha," I found myself spewing. "Ha, ha,
> ha, ha, ha,
> ha, ha." And so on.
**** Yes, amusing scene, I couldn't believe my eyes ...
hehe !
>
> Ah hell, I can't stop. The dialogue, the acting, the
> characters, the
> humor (am I sounding redundant yet?), the situations, the
> emotions,
> the music, *everything* ... I LOVED this film.
> Absolutely bloody
> fantastic.
**** Wowo !! ;-)
>
> I'm gonna go turn into a big pile of mush now. Be seeing
> ya.
> Gauti
**** Good review Gauti, I liked the film but not as much as
you did obviously. 3.5/5
Marc ;-)
=====
" Look - I'm here with my partner and 9 other people,
see, and we're dying, man ... You're gonna see our brains
on the sidewalk - they're gonna spill our guts out ...
Now you're gonna show that on television - have all the housewives look at that instead of 'As the world turns' ... I mean what have you got for me ? I want something for that, man ... "
