Wonder Boys
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: February 25, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The most accurate movie about campus life that I can remember. Read full review
100
Film.comJohn Hartl
A giddy delight, with Michael Douglas delivering what may be the most relaxed and inventive performance of his career, and Tobey Maguire and Robert Downey Jr. trailing not far behind. Read full review
100
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
One of the most joyous, diverting and original mainstream American movies in years. Read full review
100
Boston GlobeJay Carr
A sweet screenful of quirky chaos. Read full review
100
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Downey, who radiates more energy doing nothing discernible than most other actors do when they let it all hang out, takes the film to another level. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A handsomely mounted, graceful production that is well-played across the board. Read full review
90
Film.comRobert Horton
Well-crafted scenes that carry a bracingly grown-up tang: unhurried, played in a low key, with plenty of time to savor the details of character and place. Read full review
90
VarietyEmanuel Levy
Massively inventive, Wonder Boys is spiked with fresh, perverse humor that flows naturally from the straight-faced playing. Read full review
88
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
The first more-than-halfway-decent movie of a new millennium. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
An often-wondrous comedy, just as rich and surprising as "L.A. Confidential" but considerably less dark. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
A terrific movie about middle-age malaise and a comedy of unusual wit and drollness. Read full review
82
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
This is certainly the best studio movie of the new year to date, and Douglas might even be remembered at next year's Oscars. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The casting of Michael Douglas against type as an over-the-hill novelist and writing professor is the sort of clever move that wins undeserved Oscars. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Michael Douglas digs deep and delivers one of his best performances in Wonder Boys -- a comic dazzler of roguish wit and touching gravity that is driven by characters, not jokes.
80
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Maguire and Douglas are extraordinary (though Douglas feels a little old for his role, which seems to have been written for a man in his early 40s); even Downey Jr. delivers a sharp, understated performance. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
With a cast this terrific and a story this rich and wry, Wonder Boys really can't miss, even if it thumps to an underwhelming and moralistic ending that undoes a fair amount of its goodwill. Read full review
80
NewsweekDavid Ansen
[Douglas] is a superb (and underused) comic actor, one who knows that the secret of being funny is never begging for a laugh. Read full review
75
USA TodayStaff [Not Credited]
Droll mild amusement. Read full review
75
TNT RoughCutSarah Raskin
See Wonder Boys for the acting, particularly McDormand and Maguire, but use the goofy moments to get popcorn refills. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
A wonderfully rumpled, loose comedy about the paralyzing fear of failure. Read full review
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
The smartest movie to come out this year, and it could hardly be better cast. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
With a wistful look at the wages of ambition and the failure of promise, Wonder Boys finally celebrates self-awareness, ending on a muted, quietly moving note of triumph. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Except for moments of labored symbolism and a too cozy ending, the movie stays sharply focused on its well-chosen targets. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Among the movie's oddball treats are Robert Downey Jr. as Grady's flamboyant editor and Rip Torn as a pedantic author and sermonizer known only as Q. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Lovely performances from McDormand, Downey and Richard Knox, who looks uncommonly like Little Richard, as a bar owner named Vernon Hardapple. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
It's striking on several counts. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
Quite pleasant. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Plenty of fun while it lasts, but its aftereffects are mighty fleeting. Read full review
60
Film.comErnest Hardy
For those seeking even a little adventurousness in their filmgoing experiences, the movie will wear thin very quickly. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Sweet, flaky, and more than a little aimless. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The sentimentality overtakes Wonder Boys when, in the last half hour, it tries to make nice with its characters and fashion a deep message from a trivial story. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
As detached and unfocused as a college pothead. And about as much fun. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
While the story takes some clever turns, its psychology is far from convincing and its momentum flags long before the finale. Read full review
50
TimeRichard Corliss
The pulse of Curtis Hanson's direction is lethargic; the comic bits are so slack and deadpan you could mistake the film for an earnest drama--an Afterschool Special for troubled kids and their pooped parents. Read full review
40
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The sad truth is that Wonder Boys is little more than a sentimentalized encomium to the disheveled, childish life it ascribes to writers. Read full review
40
The New York TimesDana Stevens
With so much going for it, how could the movie be such a dud? Read full review
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