The Wizard

Plot synopsis:
Jimmy Woods 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, barely ever speaks, spends 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 half-brothers Corey and Nick live with their father Sam. When Jimmy is put into an institution, Corey breaks him out and runs away with him to California. Christine and her husband hire Putnam, a greedy and sleazy runaway-child bounty hunter, to bring back only Jimmy; he competes with Sam and Nick to find the boys, and each group sabotages the other's efforts, resulting in chaotic confrontations.
Along the way, Corey and Jimmy meet a girl named Haley Brooks, 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 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, a popular preteen savvy video-game 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, 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, thereby winning $50,000.
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 was happy, which is why Jimmy wanted to come to California in the first place. 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 as she laughs.

Tags: cult

Review:
It not only combined our two favorite entertainment vehicles -- Nintendo and movies -- but also provided a thrilling sneak preview of the year's most anticipated game, Super Mario Bros.
Nintendo was cool) thought they'd died and gone to eight-bit heaven.When we finally got mom and dad to take us to the theater or pick up the video, THE WIZARD was every bit as good as we'd hoped.
The people who made this movie, whatever their intentions, did.Most eight- or nine- or ten-year-olds who caught THE WIZARD upon release would give it two big thumbs up, if not the Oscar for Best Picture of All-Time.
Throw in Christian Slater as a bad-ass older brother, a love triangle with three 13 year olds, the power-glove, and the song "Send Me and Angel" by Real Life and you have 1 intense peice of cinema.
I remember how excited I was at the prospect of Super Mario Bros 3, and this movie plays up to those expectations very entertainingly.If you love videogames, the film is a fascinating cultural artifact.
The Wizard was made to feul sales for Nintendo in promoting it's newest video game, Super Mario Brothers 3, which I understand to be the company's best selling game of all time (and with good reason).
You get to see some the greatest Nintendo games (Double Dragon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) The Adventures of Zelda, Excite Bike, and Rad Racer) in addition to other Nintendo accessories such as The Power Glove ("I love the Power Glove, it's so bad.") It's so effective in selling Nintendo nostalgia (though it wasn't quite nostalgia when the movie was made), that it will make you want to pull out the old console--or emulator--and have a crack or two at some games again.
A touching drama about a young boy's quest to help his autistic younger brother and a troubled young girl they meet along the way running from her own demons.....Okay, so it's mostly just a 90 minute commercial for Super Mario Brothers 3, but it's also a great road movie with plenty of classic 80's quotable material ("I love the Power Glove.
The plot seems a little out of left field but under the right circumstances could probably happen.Great performances are given by Fred Savage as Corey, Christian Slater as Nick the typical teenage older brother and Beau Bridges as Sam the good hearted father(reminds me alot of my father).When it gets down to it The Wizard is a great movie for all ages to enjoy.5 out of 5 stars..
Is it because Nintendo is no longer in the video game movie making business and is on bad terms with Universal?
The Movie was made and released at that time as a promotional engine for a very popular new video game franchise title,that was released soon after 'Super Mario Bros.
It's a movie about kids playing video games.
to go with the video game plot there is a plot that's bigger than that in this movie.about a kid that almost never talks,and tries to leave on the road a lot.his half brother cares about him more than anybody else does.
they both go on a road trip by walking,and sometimes hitching to cali.along the way they pick-up a young teenage girl.that gives them the idea that the kid is good at playing video games,and that they should go to los angeles to enter him in a video game contest if he wins they would'en wanna keep him in a home.the family of the kids brother is after him riding in a truck.also a private investagater hired by the kids mom is also going after him.
The Wizard is a late-eighties film about a seriously silent boy's ability to play video games and walk during the entire opening credits.
I use the word "designed" in the loosest sense possible, because it seems like this movie was written over a weekend by a crack team of people who had never played Nintendo, and directed by a man with less sense of style than my grandmother.
When one hears about a movie that not only is starring the greatest actor of our generation, but is also of the most serious and awesome subject if video game playing, one knows they are in for a treat.
One small kiss for Fred, one giant smooch for movie-kind.So not only are we drawn into the exciting plot of video game tournaments and Fred's love life, but we get a special surprise at the ending.
A bit of a cult classic highly regarded by video gamers (wheather they've ever actually seen the film or not) if only for one line: "I love the PowerGlove; its so bad!" Lucas's immortal words proved to be more truthful than intended when the PowerGlove was released (after the movie was released) with a high price tag and lackluster abilities.
It was about kids playing video games, and at the time you saw it you likely had an obsession with the NES as well.
Its not a bad movie and its no master-piece, we should look at this for all that it shows, a piece of history that when i watch it gives me memories of me and my older brother playing nintendo for hours on end.
film critics reviews(mainly because most of them wouldn't even touch a game let  alone play one),sure I too thought that if you're a PSX or sega fan or non-VG or anti-VG somebody you might not like this film actually the "Commercialism" as so many critic's & people in the aforementioned categories above said is actually an interesting way to bring appeal to small-to-teenish children,& besides it has a charming story behind it (Fred Savage) is commonly funny & Hailey is interestingly sassy & the Traumatized boy Jimmy (Luke Edwards) is funny & rather cute,& the villains the hired tracker & Lucas & the Later-teenaged-yeared thugs who attack the trio are those you can really boo & throw a bunch of things at,the soundtrack my biggest cheer is "Send me an Angel" from "Real Life" which it's arrival is one of the best part's of the movie,the biggest jeer placing a "New kids on the block"(I despise N.K.O.T.B) but the film tried to keep the fans happy so I won't mind too much..
The basic plot of this movie involves video games, and a video competition, but unlike other viewers, I don't think that's what this movie is about.This movie starts with a disturbed 10 year, old (Jimmy)running away from home, intent on walking to California.
The only reason they even play video games along the way is that they need money to fund their trip, and are using Jimmy's talent to hustle for money, and want to win the competition to get money.
This Movie really is fun to watch, also it is a great family film, It is suitable for children and parents would remember if they have older children the old 8-bit Nintendo and having they're kids and they're friends coming over after school and playing "Pro Wrestling" until their arms fell off.
The movie is an utterly shameless 100-minute commercial for Nintendo products, the then imminent release of Super Mario Bros.
Cory thinks that Jimmy wants to enter a video game competition at Universal Studios but really he just wants to visit the Cabazon Dinosaurs - the last place of happy memories before the death of his twin sister, and he just wants to let her go.Really heavy-going stuff, and not a film I can enjoy watching as an adult in that regard.
But it does win back some points for effective use of the original "Send me an Angel" by Real Life.Christian Slater and Beau Bridges pursue the boys as the older brother and dad, while a feisty teenage girl called Hayley helps them get to their destination on time.
But of course it was when the new game at the time was revealed "Super Mario Bros 3" I remember seeing that in the film and thought OMG, I never even knew the franchise was even developing a third volume so you can imagine how much it blew my mind.
But most importantly he does care about his young brother Jimmy Woods (Luke Edwards) whom is the video game wizard.
I wished in the Video Armeganon elimination sequence it was a montage, where I would of liked to of seen Jimmy play different Nintendo games and knocking down numerous competitors, the fact this didn't happen I thought was a lost opportunity.
Overall I think this is a fun and surprisingly touching sports movie and personally I like to see more sports movies based on the video game subculture.
I love that kid Jimmy they meet along the way with his "Power Glove" and his bad acting/dialogue.
I personally thought that the wizard was a movie that portrayed the life of a grief stricken boy who has a unique gift at video games.The only downside was having a Mean Child Tracker on your tail and a Father and a Son chasing also sought have brought them down just a little bit.
"The Wizard" combines comedy, drama, and Nintendo by the truckload to form a unique and genuinly moving character study of crazy kids who like Nintendo.The movie concerns the journey to California of Fred Savage, and his brother Jimmy(played with powerful solemnity by some kid), a Nintendo Wizard, as it were.
The goal is to reach a Nintendo Competition, where Jimmy will eventually face Super Mario Brothers 3, a game never seen until the competition.
The ensemble also includes Christian Slater as the third brother, Beau Bridges as the father, and some girl as the companion to the kids, who comes up with the idea of using Jimmy's Nintendo skill to gamble.
In no way should these flaws dissuade anyone from viewing "The Wizard." There are a lot of movies today about Nintendo competitions, but for look at the predecessor, rent "The Wizard." Truly a film classic..
It's made even better because it's clear no one who wrote the movie has ever played a video game in their life, with beautiful examples like playing nes exclusive games in an arcade and getting the star at the end of a level in Mario 3 getting you infinite points but only when The "plot" demands it.
This is like a Kids version of "Rat Race"Fred Savage takes his brother to California but along the way finds out his brother is super skilled at arcade games.
They also meet Haley who is the typical "Not a love interest but one of the boys" types you occasionally see in pre-teen movies and TV Shows.One thing that I heard about it was that this was just a big commercial for Super Mario Bros.
It's less obvious than Man Of Steel or Transformers 4 for example.Christian Slater and Beau Bridges are the Father & Son who try to get Fred Savage and his brother since they ran away.There are also several "Villains" that are pretty funny and have their spotlight.The only thing I did not like in the movie was that there was a lot of profanity for a PG Movie.
While at a bus station, they meet Haley Brooks (Jenny Lewis) and discover that Jimmy is a real wizard at video games.
A good way of telling if you will like this film is to watch the power glove scene.
It also contains some interesting and funny lines and memorable scenes, many which are spoken to or referenced today, for better or for worse.If you did not know, this film in general concerns a young group of kids trying to go to a video game championship themselves.
It's things like that juice-up the nostalgia meter, but don't do much to juice-up the likability of the film.The story is about two boys, Corey (Savage) and his brother Jimmy (Edwards), who run away from their parents after a family fights consume the house.
I find it incredibly hard to believe young kids aren't victim to trouble or abduction when they wander the streets aimlessly as runaways escaping kidnappers like they do it all the time.Every kid who saw this film came for the video game footage.
Corey and his half brother, Jimmy, run away and play Nintendo games on the original NES system.
While the Super Mario Bros Movie is the prime example of Nintendo butchering video game franchises in order to bring them to the big screen, one movie in 1989 was unlike all the others: The Wizard.The film begins with a mentally-unstable 6 year old boy named Jimmy.
It soon becomes apparent that Jimmy wants to go to California (VERY APPARENT), so his 13 year old half-brother Corey (Fred Savage) steals him from the mental institution, and they're on their way.
The film essentially preaches that hitchhiking is the best plan for 6 and 13 year olds, gambling is great for all ages, screaming about being raped in public to get someone is arrested is fine even if you're just messing around, never reprimand your kids for running away, charge as much money to a hotel room you can't pay for as possible, eat food that isn't yours, sell your parent's bus ticket for some video gamesI think the point has been made.
Considering Nintendo's other film outings have been terrible at best, The Wizard is a refreshing movie that is definitely worth a watch if under the right mindset..
As a child who grew up watching television and playing video games, I was absolutely obsessed with this movie.
With a bit of time, I slowly realized that the whole entire purpose of the movie was to promote a new NES video game and attachments (the NES Power Glove).
Today, everytime i have a bad day at work, i automatically go home and pop in "The Wizard." I study Jimmy and his video game tactics, and I take notes.
(Yes, I went- made it to the semi-finals at least.)  In response to a reviewer who thought it was dumb that the movie showed people traveling across country to play video games...
A film of our adoration for Nintendo from our childhood, which weaved together our love of movies featuring us kids as the heroes and our undying love of the video games.
For some reason, after seeing "The Wizard" again with older eyes, I just somehow didn't feel like video games for the time being.
He seemed to shift quite dramatically in his character in a way that left me completely unsatisfied.Good for a little trip down memory lane (for those who played Nintendo, or just a lot of video games).
he also has a great talent very few other kids have...he's a wizard at video games.
however, the only entertaining thing about this movie was the fact i could brag about how much i knew about the pre-90's video games the characters were playing.
"The Wizard" is a wondrously outstanding commercial for Nintendo's release of the video game "Super Mario Bros.
I had a Nintendo, and loved the fact that we were going to get a look at Super Mario 3.For a twelve year old the action was awesome, the romance between Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis was jaw dropping, plus the gambling in Reno and the final tournament.Now I see it was just a glorified commercial for Universal Studios and Nintendo, even though it had Christian Slater in it.
I still love the film for the nostalgia, like the power glove and the games like Ninja Gaiden, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and especially Super Mario Bros.
Fred Savage runs away with his autistic like brother off to California to play in a video game tournament.
If you want to remember how cool it was to play Nintendo, watch this movie.
I guess it all depends on the age you were when it came out, and whether you had or played the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).I was 11 when the movie was released, and my 7 year old brother and I dragged our mother to the theatre to let us see it.
Realizing that being in the custody of one or more of his parents will most certainly kill Jimmy (and that Jimmy has the superhuman ability to reach level 3 on Double Dragon),  Fred Savage does the right thing and whisks his kid brother off to  exploit his virtuosic video game playing ability for cash and prizes  worth well over $130.
While kids these days would either roll around laughing, or scratch their heads in confusion at this film, anyone who grew up during the 80's, and more importantly, played video games during the 80's will, and probably have, enjoyed it.Now keep in mind I haven't watched the movie in about 5 years (WHERE'S THE DVD??), but I remember it like I watched it yesterday.
Nearly every video game that's played for any length of time in this movie is depicted incorrectly.
But back to the point when the wizard came out i couldn't wait to watch it and to be fair it was what it seemed to be a 90 min advertisement for Nintendo with the story if your good at video games people wont think your slow, well it had me convinced and so fred savage and co went on there little journey and played video games along the way they meet the little git who is the nemesis with his gay ass power glove i never had one but i heard from a reliable resource that they were pants what was good however was the joystick they used in the final game which was the game that we all wanted to play super mario 3 which at the time was the most amazing game around on an 8 bit systemand to make it even more fun they pointed out little tricks you could do in the game before it even came out the magic flute they got in the castle, interesting though that no one had played this game but they knew what everything did but it was a kids film and i was a kid who was captivated by this,but looking back the film was awful but i can still sit through it and i just cant bear to get rid of it its still got a hold on me in a weird nostalgic way i guess we cant let go of some parts of our childhood.
But this is the Wizard, the infamous movie about Nintendo games and such..