.gif)
The Wizard (film)
Encyclopedia
The WizardThe Wizard (also known as Joy Stick Heroes in Germany
, Sweet Road in Japan
, The Video Game Genius in Brazil
, Vidéokid in France
and Game Over in Finland
) is a 1989 adventure
dramedy film
starring Fred Savage
, Luke Edwards
, and Jenny Lewis
. The film follows three children as they travel to California
so the youngest, who has a condition that makes him emotionally withdrawn, can compete in a video game tournament. The Wizard is infamous 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
.
(strongly implied to be autism
) ever since his twin sister drowned in a river. He doesn't 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's determined to go to "California
", at first the only word he can say since the tragedy. The trauma of the drowning and Jimmy's condition has broken up his family: he lives with his mother and stepfather, while his half-brothers Corey (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. Jimmy's mother and stepfather hire Putnam (Will Seltzer
), a greedy and sleazy runaway-child hunter, to only bring back Jimmy, who competes with Corey's father and older brother to find the boys and sabotage each other's efforts.
Along the way, they meet a girl named Haley (Lewis), who is on her way home to Reno
. Discovering that Jimmy has an innate skill at playing video games, Haley (who nickname
s him "the Wizard") tells them about "Video Armageddon", a video game tournament with a cash prize of $50,000. She then agrees to help the two reach Los Angeles
to participate in it for a cut of the money. By doing so, they hope to prove that Jimmy doesn't 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 teenage boy who shows off his Power Glove
and 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, Spankey (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. At the tournament, which is held at Universal Studios Hollywood
, Jimmy qualifies as a finalist after a preliminary round of Ninja Gaiden
. The rest of the family convenes at the tournament, as well as Putnam, who chases the kids through the park and almost causes Jimmy to miss the final round. Jimmy competes with two other finalists, including Lucas, in a game of Super Mario Bros. 3
, which at the time had not been released in the United States, and wins the tournament at the last second after finding a Warp Whistle.
On the way back 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 his sister, 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 together the family returns home.
reviewed it as "a cynical exploitation film with a lot of commercial plugs" and "insanely overwritten and ineptly filmed" Washington Post staff writer Rita Kempley opined that the movie was "tacky and moribund." The Wizard holds a 24% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
.
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.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Sweet Road in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, The Video Game Genius in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Vidéokid in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Game Over in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) is a 1989 adventure
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
dramedy film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring Fred Savage
Fred Savage
Fredrick Aaron "Fred" Savage is an American actor, director and producer of television and film.He is best known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series The Wonder Years and as the grandson in The Princess Bride...
, Luke Edwards
Luke Edwards
Lucas Daniel "Luke" Edwards is an American actor. He began taking acting lessons for fun on his mother's suggestion and landed his first television role in 1988 on an ABC Afterschool Special episode...
, and Jenny Lewis
Jenny Lewis
Jennifer Diane Lewis , is an American singer-songwriter musician and actress. She was the primary vocalist of the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, and has released two solo albums. She currently performs as part of the duo Jenny & Johnny with boyfriend Johnathan Rice...
. The film follows three children as they travel to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
so the youngest, who has a condition that makes him emotionally withdrawn, can compete in a video game tournament. The Wizard is infamous for its numerous references to video games and accessories for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
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
Super Mario Bros. 3
, also referred to as Super Mario 3 and SMB3, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the third game in the Super Mario series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, in the United States in 1990, and in Europe in 1991...
.
Plot
Jimmy (Edwards) is a young boy who has suffered from an unnamed, but serious mental disorderMental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
(strongly implied to be autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
) ever since his twin sister drowned in a river. He doesn't interact with anyone, spending most of his time building things out of blocks or boxes, and he always carries his lunch box
Lunch box
The lunch box, also referred to as a lunch pail or lunch kit, is used to store food to be taken to work or school. The concept of a food container has existed for a long time, but it wasn't until people began using tobacco tins to haul meals in the early 20th century, followed by the use of...
with him. He's determined to go to "California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
", at first the only word he can say since the tragedy. The trauma of the drowning and Jimmy's condition has broken up his family: he lives with his mother and stepfather, while his half-brothers Corey (Savage) and Nick (Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
) live with their father Sam (Beau Bridges
Beau Bridges
Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
). When Jimmy is put into an institution, Corey breaks him out and runs away with him to California. Jimmy's mother and stepfather hire Putnam (Will Seltzer
Will Seltzer
Will Seltzer is an American actor who had supporting roles in films such as Johnny Dangerously, The Wizard and More American Graffiti...
), a greedy and sleazy runaway-child hunter, to only bring back Jimmy, who competes with Corey's father and older brother to find the boys and sabotage each other's efforts.
Along the way, they meet a girl named Haley (Lewis), who is on her way home to Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
. Discovering that Jimmy has an innate skill at playing video games, Haley (who nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s him "the Wizard") tells them about "Video Armageddon", a video game tournament with a cash prize of $50,000. She then agrees to help the two reach Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
to participate in it for a cut of the money. By doing so, they hope to prove that Jimmy doesn't need to live in an institution. The trio hitchhike across the country, using Jimmy's skill and appearance to hustle
Hustling
Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick...
people out of their money by playing video games. Along the way, they encounter Lucas Barton (Jackey Vinson
Jackey Vinson
Jackey Vinson is a former child actor of the 1980s. His first film credit, in which he played a young Jack Vinson was the in film Terminal Exposure in 1987. In the 1989 film The Wizard, which is considered to be his most esteemed work, Vinson played Lucas Barton, a video gamer with a selection of...
), a teenage boy who shows off his Power Glove
Power Glove
The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the first peripheral interface controller to recreate human hand movements on a television or computer screen in real time. The Power Glove was not popular and was criticized for its imprecise and difficult-to-use...
and his skills at Rad Racer
Rad Racer
Rad Racer, known in Japan as , is a racing game developed and published by Square for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. It was programmed by Nasir Gebelli, designed and supervised by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and featured music by Nobuo Uematsu, all of whom later contributed to Final Fantasy in...
, 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, Spankey (Frank McRae
Frank McRae
Frank McRae is an American actor and former professional football player.McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. McRae graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major in drama and history. He was a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears in the 1967 NFL season.Among his acting roles are...
), they use money won at the craps
Craps
Craps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank...
tables to train Jimmy on several games in the Reno arcades, using Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
PlayChoice-10
PlayChoice-10
PlayChoice-10 was an arcade machine which could consist of as many as 10 different games previously available only on the Nintendo Entertainment System home console...
machines. At the tournament, which is held at Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
, Jimmy qualifies as a finalist after a preliminary round of Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden (NES)
, known in Japan as and as Shadow Warriors in Europe, is a side-scrolling platforming video game. It was developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System ; its development and release coincided with the beat 'em up arcade version of the same name. It was released in in...
. The rest of the family convenes at the tournament, as well as Putnam, who chases the kids through the park and almost causes Jimmy to miss the final round. Jimmy competes with two other finalists, including Lucas, in a game of Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3
, also referred to as Super Mario 3 and SMB3, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the third game in the Super Mario series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, in the United States in 1990, and in Europe in 1991...
, which at the time had not been released in the United States, and wins the tournament at the last second after finding a Warp Whistle.
On the way back home, the family passes by the Cabazon Dinosaurs
Cabazon Dinosaurs
Cabazon Dinosaurs, also referred to as Claude Bell's Dinosaurs, are enormous, sculptured roadside attractions located in Cabazon, California and visible to the immediate north of Interstate 10. The site features Dinny the Dinosaur, a 150-ton building shaped like a larger-than-life-sized...
, a tourist trap
Tourist trap
A tourist trap is an establishment, or group of establishments, that has been created with the aim of attracting tourists and their money...
, 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 his sister, 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 together the family returns home.
Music/Soundtrack
- "You Don't Get Much" by BoDeansBoDeansThe BoDeans are a rock band formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1983 by Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas . In 1985, after adding a drummer and a bassist, the band signed a contract with Slash Records and recorded their first album...
- "Leavin' On Your Mind" by Patsy ClinePatsy ClinePatsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
- "Red River" by BoDeans
- "(You've Got It) The Right Stuff" by New Kids On The BlockNew Kids on the BlockNew Kids on the Block are an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts, assembled in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr. The band currently consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.New Kids on the Block enjoyed success in the late 1980s and...
- "Send Me An Angel '89" by Real LifeReal LifeReal Life may refer to:*Real life, the state of existence outside of online or artificial interactionsIn music:* Real Life * Real Life * Real Life * Real Life...
- "Hangin' Tough" by New Kids On The Block
- "Nowhere To Run" by Martha & The Vandellas
- "I Live By The Groove" by Paul CarrackPaul CarrackPaul Carrack is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Carrack has been a member of several bands including Ace, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, and Roxy Music, been a session and touring musician for several others including Nick Lowe, and has enjoyed success as a solo artist as well...
- "Don't Be Cruel" by Bobby BrownBobby BrownRobert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is an American R&B singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...
- "My Way" by Paul AnkaPaul AnkaPaul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
- "I Found My Way" by Sally DworskySally DworskySally Dworsky is an American singer-songwriter. She has been an important voice actress and singer in animated films such as Shrek, The Lion King and The Prince of Egypt in addition to releasing her own albums. She has also performed on A Prairie Home Companion. Her brother is Richard Dworsky...
Reception
The movie received negative reviews from some critics, who considered it little more than a 100-minute commercial for Nintendo games and Universal Studios Hollywood. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
reviewed it as "a cynical exploitation film with a lot of commercial plugs" and "insanely overwritten and ineptly filmed" Washington Post staff writer Rita Kempley opined that the movie was "tacky and moribund." The Wizard holds a 24% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Release history
The Wizard was released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
three times, in 1990, 1992 and 1997. It was first released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in Region 2 on February 2, 2001 and finally in the US and Canada (Region 1) on August 22, 2006.