Wonder Boys (Film)

I was extremely impressed with the accuracy and attention of the film to date. So far, it has captured Tripp's vicarious lifestyle, along with his clear insecurities. When I read the novel I felt he was more attached to Emily than the film showed, but almost everything else was how I imagined it. In most films based on novels, most small details are cut out, and the film simply becomes a plot summary of the novel. However, the director has kept most of the details, something readers of the novel definitely appreciate.
From the first reference to Tripp's writing, I felt the tension that came with his writing of the second novel. The interraction between James and Grady in the car about James' talk with Crabtree shows Grady's sentiment that he is not the only person banking on this novel's success. Similar to the novel, we see how little things continue to pile up and weigh down on Grady- the unfinished novel, the dead dog, the stolen coat, his injured ankle, and his affair with Sara. The same way all these little things irritate the reader with every passing page, I was becoming more and more frustrated with his inability to solve any of these problems, and willingness to just let them pile up.
The characters are portrayed very accurately- Grady's passiveness is very clear, from his conversation with Sara to his struggles with the novel. Crabtree is far more interesting of a character in the movie than in the novel, maybe because I find Robert Downey Jr. very funny, and I struggled to picture a transvestite while reading (I'm not too familiar with them). I guess I struggled to fully understand Crabtree's sexual insecurities, and the movie made this clearer. James Leer's character is also very accurate- his "quirky" thought process is well portrayed, as well as his brilliance and utter stupidity.
Over the next hour+ of the film, I hope the storyline follows the novel as closely, while making some of the difficult scenes clearer. I am interested to see how the director references the dead dog and Grady's injured ankle among the main problems that arise. I am particularly looking forward to the conclusion, as to see the director's stance on why Grady took the fall- in reading I missed Grady tell James it was better for him to take the fall because he has tenure. I still think Grady took all the blame because he sympathized with Leer and wanted to make sure he did not follow down the same path; however, James becomes Crabtree's new way back to fame, so is he really helping? Hopefully the film helps me better understand the conclusion.