Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5488 in DVD
• Brand: Uni
• Released on: 2006-08-22
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.20 pounds
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.com
Less 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

Customer Reviews

The "8-Mile" of video game movies!
This is one of those movies that will have you reminiscing to your childhood. Well, if you grew up in the 80's anyway. It is esentially a full-length Nintendo commercial but it's so much fun. Fresh-faced Fred Savage is Corey, the brother of Jimmy, a painfully-quiet kid who is secretly a Nintendo prodigy. When Corey learns that Jimmy may get taken to a home for kids with special needs, he kidnaps his brother and the two go on an adventure to California. Of course, they come across the evil goon that their mother has hired to bring them back and countless thugs who don't like losing their hard-earned money in a Nintendo hustle. But that's nothing compared to Jimmy's cocky arch nemesis, Lucas, the flamboyant Apollo Creed to Jimmy's Rocky Balboa who owns every Nintendo game in existence as well as the unstoppable Power Glove accessory that allows him to make short work of his opposition.

"The Wizard" is about as shameless as commercial films get but it is entertaining. Having the top male TV heart throb in a movie that pretty much advertises every Nintendo game ever made at the time is sure to make a nice amount of bank. Throwing in Christian Slater wasn't a bad touch either. This ranks right up there with "True Romance" as his finest performance. The surprise cameo appearance by the never-before-seen "Super Mario Bros. 3" was impressive in its own right.

All around fun movie.
I absolutely love this movie! It's right up there with 'The 'Burbs' and 'The Lost Boys.' Okay, sue me. I'm a sucker for corny 80's movies, but can you blame me? I'm not a real big fan of todays over the top special effects...I mean, what are they trying to prove? On another note, of course this was probably the biggest advertisement Nintendo ever had or ever will have, but you can't sit there and say you didn't buy into it. This movie also hooked me onto the song, "Send Me An Angel" by Real Life. For people who haven't seen this movie before, I would highly advise that you see it if you are a fan of 80's movies. Don't expect anything too fancy out of this, but that's the fun part about it. It's a great storyline all the same without the glitz and glamour that Hollywood can shove into a movie and make you go crazy.

Three for the Road - Eighties Style!
"The Wizard" is somewhat of a cult 80's movie that is fantastic to watch. Actually, I should qualify that. The movie is dated. I think even for '89 it was terribly dated. But if you were a child of the 80's then you could certainly relate to this movie and you will appreciate everything it stands for.

"The Wizard" stars The Wonder Years star, Fred Savage as Corey Woods. Corey is trying to save his younger brother from being institutionalized. Luke Edwards plays The Wizard, aka Jimmy Woods; an emotionally crippled little boy who has trouble articulating his thoughts.

The first 10 or 15 minutes of the movie are somewhat slow-moving. But it really picks up once Corey and Jimmy hit the road and meet Haley. Eighties tween-movie maven, Jenny Lewis plays the part of the very grown-up Haley extraordinarily. They all finally come up with a plan once they see Jimmy ace a video game at a bus station.

So, Jimmy, Haley and Corey all set out to hitch across 3 states (UT and NV) to make it to the video game championships (in CA.) I know this is a little far-fetched and maybe even a little screw-ballish. But think of it from a kid's perspective (after all this is a kid's movie.) Along the way, they have a few adventures in Reno while Jimmy bones up on his gaming. They also have to dodge Tate. Vince Trankina plays Tate, a smarmy detective hired by Jimmy's parents to track him down. It was so funny when Haley screamed, "he touched my breasts" and the security men all carry him out of the casino before he could run off with Jimmy!

They all finally make it to CA, with the help of a trucker that Haley has befriended. Once at the championships, Corey's father and brother also show up looking for them (Christian Slater played Nick & Beau Bridges played Sam Woods.) It gets a little confusing, Jimmy is Corey and Nick's half-brother from Sam's second marriage to Jimmy's mother. It's a shame Christian Slater's part wasn't any bigger because he played a really good tough older brother.

As a kid, my favorite scenes were during the video game tournament. Because, it was the first time I ever saw Super Mario Bros. 3. Eighteen years later, compared to even the most basic games it's like watching an antiquated dinosaur; but it's still fun to watch because it brings back fond memories.

Anyway, the rest of the movie is pretty much predictable. There was a cute moment at the end when it was explained why Jimmy really wanted to go to California in the first place. Also, it loosely made viewers think that Haley was going to live with Corey and his father; at least that was the impression that I got.

"The Wizard" is a great picture for kids because there isn't any violence or profane language. I also recommend this movie to anyone that likes classic video games or to anyone that just likes corny 80's films. If you liked this movie, then you'd probably also like: Baby Boom, Heathers (THX Version), The Princess Bride (20th Anniversary Edition), Troop Beverly Hills, The Witches, Mermaids, Adventures in Babysitting, The Karate Kid (Special Edition), Who's That Girl? and The Best of the Wonder Years.

Also known as "The Joystick King," "The Wizard" was just added to Comcast's on-demand menu. And for 100 minutes I got to forget about my everyday-problems and remember what it was like to be a kid again.