DOUGLAS EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS IN 'WONDER BOYS'.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

Curtis Hanson's quirky new movie, ``The Wonder Boys,'' suffers from some of the same problems that afflict its main character, a college professor undergoing a prolonged crisis of confidence. Like this man, Grady Tripp, ``Wonder Boys'' is often aimless and uncertain, not to mention fanciful in a rather forced fashion.

What makes the movie - and Grady - bearable and ultimately worthwhile is an expert performance from Michael Douglas, a gifted comic actor who has rarely been afforded the opportunity to play a likably loose character whose hair isn't always exactly in place. The movie has other merits, too - cinematographer Dante Spinotti's work being chief among them - but this really is Douglas' showcase, and he puts on a teacher's clinic in acting.

Douglas' Grady is a man watching his life unravel before his eyes. One morning, his wife packs her bags and leaves him. Later that evening, his lover Sara (Frances McDormand), the chancellor of the Pittsburgh college where Grady teaches creative writing, reveals that she's pregnant. To top it off, Sara is married to the head of Grady's department, a Joe DiMaggio fanatic named Walter (Richard Thomas).

More complications: Grady's amoral book editor (Robert Downey Jr. in an interesting bit of casting) has arrived from New York, wanting to see the follow-up to the masterpiece that Grady wrote seven years ago. It's not that Grady hasn't written anything. The problem is he can't stop writing. The novel is at 1,200 pages and counting.

Even with all these dominoes falling, we're still not sure if Grady's going to break out of his pot-induced haze and make some hard choices. But when one of his best students, the devilishly dour James Leer (Tobey Maguire), hooks up with Grady at a literary party, events happen that force Grady's hand and threaten to end his extended adolescence.

Grady's losing battle with past acclaim may certainly resonate with director Hanson, who last directed the universally praised ``L.A. Confidential.'' With this offbeat follow-up, Hanson seems to be trying a little too hard to soften expectations. To his credit, he demonstrates a previously untapped capacity for rueful comedy, even if he often relies on running jokes that grow a bit tired upon repetition. You can only beat a dead horse so many times.

Screenwriter Steve Kloves (``The Fabulous Baker Boys'') does a fine job in transferring the humanity of Michael Chabon's novel to the screen, but one central problem remains. In frequent voice-overs, Grady stresses the importance of his relationship with Sara, yet their union is so underdeveloped that it's almost an afterthought. McDormand pops up every 15 minutes or so, apparently just to remind you that she's still in the movie.

This flaw isn't fatal; the leisurely paced ``Wonder Boys'' has too many subplots for that to happen. But it does render its denouement a little less than wonderful.

The facts

--The film: ``Wonder Boys'' (R; language, extensive drug use).

--The stars: Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Robert Downey Jr.

--Behind the scenes: Directed by Curtis Hanson. Screenplay by Steve Kloves (based on Michael Chabon's novel). Released by Paramount Pictures.

--Running time: One hour, 52 minutes.

--Playing: Citywide.

--Our rating: Three stars

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Photo:

Rip Torn, left, Robert Downey Jr., Katie Holmes, Tobey Maguire and Michael Douglas in a scene from ``Wonder Boys.''