Wonder Boys: Music from the Motion Picture (2000 Film)
Director Curtis Hanson chooses a lineup of vintage rock and R&B; for the musical side of his screen adaptation of Michael Chabon's brilliantWonder Boys. Foremost is Bob Dylan, who contributes a new rocker, "Things Have Changed," as well as cuts fromBlood on the Tracks,Oh Mercy, andTime Out of Mind. These 13 cuts do a fine job of limning Michael Douglas's lead character's confusion, regret, and weary-to-the-bone ambivalence. Smartly sequenced--soul giantsLittle Willie JohnandClarence Carterfit perfectly alongside the likes of Dylan,Lennon,Van Morrison, andNeil Young--Wonder Boysthe album is a stellar example of hand-in-glove movie-music supervision.--Rickey Wright