The Wizard
by Todd Holland
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DVD details
Actor: Fred Savage, Jenny Lewis, Luke Edwards, Vince Trankina, Wendy PhillipsDirector: Todd Holland
Brand: NBC Universal
Cinematographer: Robert D. Yeoman
Editor: Tom Finan
Producer: Daniel Schneider
Producer: David Chisholm
Writer: David Chisholm
Producer: Ken Topolsky
Producer: Lindsley Parsons Jr.
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-22
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of The Wizard
DVD Review: Good blast from the past that whole family can enjoy
Summary: 4 Stars
Now a days you can't go anywhere without hearing of some new video game system coming out. Long lines out the door in the hopes to get one of the latest generation video game systems or the various games that are available on said system.
Back in 1989, things weren't too differnet. The graphics may not have been up to today's standards but there was one king on the block that everyone had to know. That was Nintendo. The 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System was a must have for kids young and old alike. With games varying from sports, action and adventure this was the must have system of the late 1980's and early 1990's.
This movie, pretty much takes a look at life when focused on a young boy, Jimmy and his natural talent dealing with the Nintendo Entertainment System. He is a natural wiz at any and all games, yet doesn't speak much except for exclaiming his desire to go to "California". Fred Savage as Corey, sets out on an adventure with his half brother Jimmy in what seems like a quest to California to compete in the Video Game Championships at Universal Studios.
Along the way they meet up with Haley, played by Jenny Lewis, who becomes their female compainon in their quest to reach California and get out of trouble that they happen to get into as they avoid the parents and the bounty hunter who are all after the boys who left without permission on this quest to reach the video game tournement.
The movie has a very 1980's feel to it. It comes off as an advertisement of sorts for all things Nintendo. You have the use of the ill fated "Power Glove" that one of the kids rivals who will be at said tournement uses while they challenge him in his home town on the way to California. There is even a point where Haley is on the phone with the "Nintendo Game Councelors" getting much needed help on every and any game for the NES. Of course not telling us watchers of this movie how much that really would have costs as most people knew it was not a free service as they were showing in the movie. Also while on the phone the names of various popular games are being mentioned left and right, a lot of the games not possibly ever going to be used in the tournament as they are RPG in nature. There was even one point where Corey's father and brother (played by Beau Bridges and Christian Slater) have to get their car fixed and pop out a NES to play on a small TV in the repair garage. It was moments like this that dumbed down the movie a bit. What could have been great, really comes off as a dated commercial for how wonderful the NES is and how even adults use it and get a kick out of it.
The biggest and probably main draw of the movie, was the fact that it proudly displayed a long awaited game at this time "Super Mario Bros 3" which was not even out in game stores at the time this movie was in theaters. I won't give away the details surrounding the use of this game, but it was a real reason that people ran out to see this movie. As the Super Mario craze was alive and well at this time and just for the sight of the next edition of the long running Mario saga, was a reason that most Nintendo fans had to see this film. Yours truly included. That thrill of seeing the game used in this movie is probably not as big a deal now with the game already out for so many years and in differnet editions but if you can take yourself back to this time period and put the advertisement factors aside, you will see why this is a cool moment in the film.
Advertisements aside, the movie is a blast to watch again. It comes off as a great piece of pure nostalgia. Remembering a time when things were easy and simplistic yet still fun. A lot of people who were in their teen's when this movie came out all probably wished that they were stars in such things as a video game competition. This movie really plays up on the idea of going cross country just to prove one's worth in said tourny, but also shows that the kids who were the focus, were more then just video game crazed kids wanting to show off their skills. We learn towards the end that there really was other goals then just video games behind the whole film. So what turns out to be a kid just wanting to win a video game championship turns out to be about much more. Again not the deepest of moments but at least they did try to make the story more then just being to play video games and nothing else.
Over all, this film comes off as a weird mixture of "Over the Top", "The Fugitive" and "The Goonies" sponsored by Nintendo. It should also be noted that Universal who made this film, decides to get in on the advertising in the movie as well of their own brand, proudly showing various characters and locations in Universal Studios, California where the tournament takes place. Once you get past all the ads within, you will find a fun and enjoyable film that I think all in the family should enjoy. It's not the most creative or deepest of stories ever seen in a movie, but it is fun and you start to root for the kids and get involved in the situation you find yourself in as if you too were on a similar quest to just accomplish something and to have your parents understand what you are going through.
It's a fun watch and a great trip down memory lane. The NES may be a memory now, but this is one trip down memory lane you won't be sorry getting. And of course like most 1980's movies, everything works out happily ever after in this story, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Check it out. If you haven't seen it, it will be a new and great experience, especially if you were a kid growing up in the 1980's and if you did see it, see it again as this is one of those hidden treasures that you will be glad to see after not having seen it in so long.
Description of The Wizard
Fred Savage stars in this warm-hearted family adventure that features the excitement and thrills of video game competition. Corey (Savage) refuses to let his emotionally disturbed younger brother Jimmy (Luke Edwards) be institutionalized, and the two run away together. They soon join forces with a resourceful girl (Jenny Lewis), who notices that Jimmy has a special talent: he is a "wizard" at video games and gets the high score on absolutely everything he plays. Evading their parents and a sinister bounty hunter, the trio head for a climactic showdown at the video game championships in California. Co-starring Beau Bridges and Christian Slater, it's an inside look at the world of video gamers that will have you cheering the whole way! Starring: Fred Savage, Jenny Lewis, Christian Slater, Beau Bridges, Luke Edwards, Will Seltzer, Sam McMurray, Frank McRae, Wendy Phillips, Jackey Vinson Directed by: Todd HollandLess raunchy than Tommy and more conventional than Tron, The Wizard also revolves around gaming. There's even a Bridges on board. In Tron it was Jeff, in The Wizard it's Beau. As opposed to the rock opera?s pinball-playing "deaf, dumb, and blind kid," however, quasi-catatonic Jimmy (Luke Edwards) is a video game wiz. While the nine-year-old lives with his mother, half-brothers Corey (Fred Savage, circa The Wonder Years) and Nick (Christian Slater, fresh from Heathers) live with their father, Sam (Bridges). When Jimmy, who recently lost his sister, is placed in a home, Corey busts him out for a trip to California. (Today, Jimmy's condition would be labeled post-traumatic stress disorder.) As they're leaving Utah, they join forces with gaming enthusiast Haley (Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis), who suggests LA's National Video Game Championships. So, off they go by foot, skateboard, and the kindness of strangers. Sam, Nick, and obnoxious bounty hunter Putnam (Will Seltzer) are close behind. The outcome may be a foregone conclusion--the fractured family makes their peace--but The Wizard still offers a nostalgic, Nintendo-laden look at 1980s gamer culture (Power Glove, Super Mario Bros. 3, etc.). Plus, sharp-eyed viewers will spot Toby Maguire milling around before the showdown at Universal Studios Theme Park. If not for the hitchhiking, gambling, and reckless automotive destruction--after Putnam takes a knife to Sam's tires, Sam smashes his headlights with a shovel--the movie would be appropriate for all ages. In other words, it earns its PG rating. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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