Starring: Zach Braff, Kate Hudson, Joey King, Pierce Gagnon, Josh Gad, Mandy Patinkin, and Jim Parsons
Directed by: Zach Braff
Screenplay: Adam J. Braff and Zach Braff
Here's Zach Braff's decent movie about a rather unlucky guy. Some might call him a loser, others might simply see him as unlucky.
Aidan Bloom (Zach Braff) is a struggling actor who's married and has two kids in Jewish day school, thanks to his father, Gabe (Mandy Patinkin), who is nice enough to pay for them to attend school. Gabe is dying of cancer and needs the money used for putting the kids through school for his treatment. His wife, Sarah (Kate Hudson), works but doesn't make enough to pay for private school. While Aidan and Sarah decide whether or not to put their children in public school, Aidan does his best to homeschool them while he navigates various auditions. Aidan must navigate a lot that is going on in his life. On top of all that, he has a Comic Con obsessed brother, Noah (Josh Gad), who pretty much refuses to see things in Aidan's life the way they are, and therefore doesn't help. So, how will everything play out?
You might remember the TV show, Scrubs, in which Zach Braff played J.D, the main character of the show. That was a comedy series that had its serious moments. Wish I Was Here is a serious movie with its comedic moments. It's a story about a family struggle that many people can relate to. People always have difficulties with people in their families and this is a film that really brings that idea home. Sarah is the one who keeps the family together when it's possible that it's going to fall apart in the end. She is a sincere character throughout the whole film. Aidan does his best to keep the family together as well, but it's clear that all the stress falls on him. Everyone's looking to him for the answers, and while he may not be able to teach his children the academic lessons they need to learn in order to finish the school year, he has to teach them very important life lessons that are best learned perhaps, outside the classroom. His children must navigate being away from their friends, a dying grandfather, a struggling father, a not so happy mother, and a rather absent uncle.
If you can't relate to the entire story, you can relate to at least some of it, especially if you're Jewish. You'll be able to relate to the idea of the family struggle. Every family goes through a struggle at some point; that's just life. Wish I Was Here shows just that life happens. Life is hard and the people we often have to rely on aren't always there for us. We see that in Aidan's brother, Noah; the guy who really could be there for Aidan when he needs Noah, but chooses to be in his own little world.
Aidan seems kind of like a loser. He isn't really one, but the film makes him out to be one unlucky guy, whom some may see as a complete loser. He's going nowhere with his acting and he so desperately wants to for his own sake as well as for the sake of his family.
Zach Braff delivers a performance vastly different from what you might expect if you're familiar with his work in Scrubs. This is a very different Zach Braff than we are used to seeing play J.D on that show. He's not randomly looking off into space like he often does in that show. He is even better behind the camera than he is in front of it for this film. He takes the film in a direction that tugs on all of our hearts, even if we laugh much of the way through the film. When I first heard about this film, it was hard to take it seriously based on the trailer because it didn't share much of what the movie is about. It doesn't take long into the film for Braff to make us take this film seriously. It is a more serious film than you might expect it to be.
Overall, I do recommend this film. It is different than what you might expect to see this summer and I find it rather refreshing. Wish I Was Here makes for a fascinating trip to the movies and will have you talking about it long after you walk out of the theater.
I give Wish I Was Here a B.
Directed by: Zach Braff
Screenplay: Adam J. Braff and Zach Braff
Here's Zach Braff's decent movie about a rather unlucky guy. Some might call him a loser, others might simply see him as unlucky.
Aidan Bloom (Zach Braff) is a struggling actor who's married and has two kids in Jewish day school, thanks to his father, Gabe (Mandy Patinkin), who is nice enough to pay for them to attend school. Gabe is dying of cancer and needs the money used for putting the kids through school for his treatment. His wife, Sarah (Kate Hudson), works but doesn't make enough to pay for private school. While Aidan and Sarah decide whether or not to put their children in public school, Aidan does his best to homeschool them while he navigates various auditions. Aidan must navigate a lot that is going on in his life. On top of all that, he has a Comic Con obsessed brother, Noah (Josh Gad), who pretty much refuses to see things in Aidan's life the way they are, and therefore doesn't help. So, how will everything play out?
You might remember the TV show, Scrubs, in which Zach Braff played J.D, the main character of the show. That was a comedy series that had its serious moments. Wish I Was Here is a serious movie with its comedic moments. It's a story about a family struggle that many people can relate to. People always have difficulties with people in their families and this is a film that really brings that idea home. Sarah is the one who keeps the family together when it's possible that it's going to fall apart in the end. She is a sincere character throughout the whole film. Aidan does his best to keep the family together as well, but it's clear that all the stress falls on him. Everyone's looking to him for the answers, and while he may not be able to teach his children the academic lessons they need to learn in order to finish the school year, he has to teach them very important life lessons that are best learned perhaps, outside the classroom. His children must navigate being away from their friends, a dying grandfather, a struggling father, a not so happy mother, and a rather absent uncle.
If you can't relate to the entire story, you can relate to at least some of it, especially if you're Jewish. You'll be able to relate to the idea of the family struggle. Every family goes through a struggle at some point; that's just life. Wish I Was Here shows just that life happens. Life is hard and the people we often have to rely on aren't always there for us. We see that in Aidan's brother, Noah; the guy who really could be there for Aidan when he needs Noah, but chooses to be in his own little world.
Aidan seems kind of like a loser. He isn't really one, but the film makes him out to be one unlucky guy, whom some may see as a complete loser. He's going nowhere with his acting and he so desperately wants to for his own sake as well as for the sake of his family.
Zach Braff delivers a performance vastly different from what you might expect if you're familiar with his work in Scrubs. This is a very different Zach Braff than we are used to seeing play J.D on that show. He's not randomly looking off into space like he often does in that show. He is even better behind the camera than he is in front of it for this film. He takes the film in a direction that tugs on all of our hearts, even if we laugh much of the way through the film. When I first heard about this film, it was hard to take it seriously based on the trailer because it didn't share much of what the movie is about. It doesn't take long into the film for Braff to make us take this film seriously. It is a more serious film than you might expect it to be.
Overall, I do recommend this film. It is different than what you might expect to see this summer and I find it rather refreshing. Wish I Was Here makes for a fascinating trip to the movies and will have you talking about it long after you walk out of the theater.
I give Wish I Was Here a B.
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