THE WIZARD
A film review by J. M. Ivler
Copyright 1990 J. M. Ivler
Starring: Beau Bridges, Fred Savage, Christian Slater Director: Todd Holland Written by: David Chisholm Released by: Universal
Synopsis: Two brothers make a cross-country trek. In the process they discover
more about each other and themselves. The movie has the feel of an
action-adventure, but also works well as a story about the love and
the bond between the two brothers.
Review:
This is a film that deals from the bottom and the top of the deck. The top of the deck is the simple story that was outlined above. This is almost standard stock fare. Two brother go off together (feeling unwanted). The parents start a frantic search and the young-uns meet all sorts of characters as they grow up together and individually. There is a crazy escape sequence that leads to the "moment of truth" and the "ultimate loser" pulls out the win of the day. A general feel-good movie as the family is reunited and they live happily ever after.
From the bottom is a story about dealing with the loss of a family member, the guilt feelings that one has about feeling there was something more they could do to stop the death. The emotional scars that are raised when one attempt to deal directly with loss is shown dramatically when the two boys are drawn apart by the young lady in the film. Only the thought of accepting a personal loss (as an individual) seems to be able to overcome the fact that the elder boy is sharing his attentions with another. The closing scenes (no, I do not believe in spoilers) after the visible victory, is the actual victory of the youngest son, and the family.
One has to ask, "Is this a children's film?" The answer to that is NO. This is a family film. It is a film that will have anyone who has ever lost a family member wanting to have just a moment with that person back (what made this harder, was the fact that I saw ALWAYS immediately after this... Talk about a one-two punch).
Overall, the acting was above par from that which is normally encountered in children's movies. The adults were not all morons (although, some were) and the performances by both Christian Slater and Fred Savage were excellent. Savage has truly benefited from his work behind the camera on T.V.. His performance requires a bound of emotions, all which her pulls out and shows with effectiveness.
The direction was bumpy throughout, but once you understand that this was a film made for two distinct audiences, and that the author and director had something serious to say between the lines of the children's action-adventure, then you can live with the uneven pacing.
On the scale of -4 to 4 I would have to give this film a 2-3 rating. I provide two ratings for there are actually two films here. The first, the children's action-adventure gets a 2. It was above average in its scope and capabilities. It was not excellent, but was quite good. The 3 goes to the film that underlay the "story." This is actually a very moving piece that strikes home with anyone who has ever lost a sibling and/or watched a family self-destruct from the loss of a child (or any immediate family member).
If you have a family, I recommend this film as one of the best out to see all together.
JMI
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