The Wizard (film)

The Wizard
File:The wizard poster.jpg Promotional poster for the film
Directed by	Todd Holland
Produced by	David Chisholm Ken Topolsky
Written by	David Chisholm
Starring	Fred Savage Christian Slater Jenny Lewis with Beau Bridges and introducing Luke Edwards
Music by	J. Peter Robinson
Cinematography	Robert D. Yeoman
Edited by	Tom Finan
Production company	Nintendo The Finnegan/Pinchuk Company
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (USA & Canada) Carolco Pictures (International)
Release dates	December 15, 1989 (1989-12-15) (United States)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States Japan
Language	English
Budget	$6 million
Box office	$14.3 million

The Wizard is a 1989 adventure comedy-drama film starring Fred Savage, Christian Slater, Jenny Lewis, Beau Bridges and Luke Edwards. It was also Tobey Maguire's film debut.

The film follows three children as they travel to California. The youngest of the three is emotionally withdrawn with a gift for playing video games. The Wizard is famous for its numerous references to video games and accessories for the Nintendo Entertainment System and has been called a feature-length commercial. The film was also well known for being North America's introduction to what would become one of the best-selling video games of all time, Super Mario Bros. 3. Over time, the film has gained somewhat of a cult following.

Plot

Jimmy Woods (Luke Edwards) is a young boy who has suffered from an unnamed, but serious mental disorder ever since his twin sister Jennifer drowned in the Green River two years earlier. He does not interact with anyone, spending most of his time building things out of blocks or boxes, and he always carries his lunch box with him. He is determined to go to "California", at first nearly the only word he can say since the tragedy. The trauma of the drowning and Jimmy's condition have broken up his family; he lives with his mother Christine Bateman and stepfather, while his brothers Corey (Fred Savage) and Nick (Christian Slater) live with their father Sam (Beau Bridges). When Jimmy is put into an institution, Corey breaks him out and runs away with him to California. Christine and her husband hire Putnam (Will Seltzer), a greedy and sleazy runaway-child bounty hunter, to bring back only Jimmy; he competes with Sam and Nick to find the boys, and both groups sabotage each other's efforts, resulting in chaotic confrontations.

Along the way, Corey and Jimmy meet a girl named Haley Brooks (Jenny Lewis), who is on her way home to Reno. After discovering that Jimmy has an innate skill for playing video games, Haley (who nicknames him "the Wizard") tells them about "Video Armageddon", a video game tournament with a $50,000 cash prize. She then agrees to help the two reach Los Angeles to participate for a cut of the money. By doing so, they hope to prove that Jimmy does not need to live in an institution. The trio hitchhike across the country, using Jimmy's skill and appearance to hustle people out of their money by playing video games. Along the way, they encounter Lucas Barton (Jackey Vinson), a popular preteen big shot who owns a Power Glove and shows his skills at Rad Racer, declaring he is also entering the tournament.

They finally arrive in Reno, where it is revealed that Haley wants her share of the prize money to help her father buy a house. With the help of an acquaintance trucker, Spanky (Frank McRae), they use money won at the craps tables to train Jimmy on several games in the Reno arcades, using Nintendo PlayChoice-10 machines. After a difficult search, Putnam catches up with the trio, capturing and losing Jimmy twice. At the tournament, which is held at Universal Studios Hollywood located in Spartacus Square, Jimmy qualifies as a finalist after a preliminary round of Ninja Gaiden. In between rounds, Putnam chases the kids through the park and almost causes Jimmy to miss the final round. The Woodses, the Batemans, and Putnam convene in the crowd as Jimmy competes with Lucas and another finalist in a game of Super Mario Bros. 3, which at the time had not been released in the United States. Jimmy wins the tournament at the last second after finding a Warp Whistle and getting the star.

On their way home, the family passes by the Cabazon Dinosaurs, a tourist trap, and Jimmy becomes so excited and restless that they pull over. He runs from the car up into one of the dinosaurs, his family in pursuit. Inside, Jimmy takes from his lunchbox one of his pictures of Jennifer, taken at the foot of the dinosaur with the rest of the family during a vacation, and Corey realizes that he simply wanted to leave his sister's mementos in a place where she would be happy. He leaves the lunchbox inside the dinosaur and, at Christine's request, Sam drives the boys and Haley home. Haley kisses Jimmy and Corey after which Jimmy kisses Haley on her cheek.

Cast

• Fred Savage as Corey Woods
• Luke Edwards as Jimmy Woods
• Jenny Lewis as Haley Brooks
• Christian Slater as Nick Woods
• Beau Bridges as Sam Woods
• Will Seltzer as Putnam
• Jackey Vinson as Lucas Barton
• Wendy Phillips as Christine Bateman
• Sam McMurray as Mr. Bateman
• Frank McRae as Spankey
• Tobey Maguire as Lucas' Goon at Video Armageddon (uncredited)

Soundtrack

• BoDeans – "You Don't Get Much"
• Patsy Cline – "Leavin' on Your Mind"
• BoDeans – "Red River"
• New Kids on the Block – "You Got It (The Right Stuff)"
• Real Life – "Send Me an Angel '89"
• New Kids on the Block – "Hangin' Tough"
• Martha & The Vandellas – "Nowhere to Run"
• Paul Carrack – "I Live by the Groove"
• Bobby Brown – "Don't Be Cruel"
• Paul Anka – "My Way"
• Sally Dworsky – "I Found My Way"

Reception

The movie received negative reviews from some critics, who considered it little more than a 96-minute commercial for Nintendo games and Universal Studios Hollywood. Roger Ebert called it "a cynical exploitation film with a lot of commercial plugs" and "insanely overwritten and ineptly filmed". Washington Post staff writer Rita Kempley wrote that the movie was "tacky and moribund". The Wizard holds a 26% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, the movie was popular enough to achieve cult film status and to receive a reunion screening from Ain't It Cool News at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz in Austin, Texas, on February 8, 2008. Director Todd Holland and stars Fred Savage and Luke Edwards were in attendance to take questions from fans.

Box office

The movie debuted at No. 5.

Release history

The film was also known as Joy Stick Heroes in Germany, Sweet Road in Japan, The Video Game Genius in Brazil, Vidéokid in France, Game Over in Finland and Gameboy in Sweden.

The Wizard was released on VHS and Laserdisc three times, in 1990, 1992 and 1997. It was first released on DVD in Region 2 on February 2, 2001 and finally in the US and Canada (Region 1) on August 22, 2006. The DVD is a bare bones release without bonus features. The film has not been released on Blu-ray Disc as of June 2015.

Legacy

In 2015, Polygon remembered the film as a "Nintendo Entertainment System and Power Glove advertisement masquerading as a feature film". The website wrote that gamers associate the film with its "shameless Nintendo promotion" and the debut of the now classic Super Mario Bros. 3.

External links

• The Wizard at IMDb
• The Wizard at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Wizard at Box Office Mojo
• The Wizard: Where Are They Now?