The Wizard (1989)

A boy and his brother run away from home and hitch cross country with the help of a girl they meet to compete in the ultimate video game championship.

Director:

Todd Holland

Writer:

David Chisholm

Stars:

Luke Edwards, Vince Trankina, Fred Savage

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luke Edwards	...	Jimmy Woods / The Wizard
Vince Trankina	...	Tate (as Vincent Leahr)
Wendy Phillips	...	Christine Bateman
Dea McAllister	...	Councelor
Sam McMurray	...	Bateman
Beau Bridges	...	Sam Woods
Fred Savage	...	Corey Woods
Christian Slater	...	Nick Woods
Will Seltzer	...	Putnam
Roy Conrad	...	Bus Clerk
Jenny Lewis	...	Haley
Roderick Dexter	...	Trucker #1 / Wrecking Yard Man
Ray Bickel	...	Trucker #2
Chuck Skinner	...	Grease Monkey
W.K. Cowan	...	Salesman #1

Storyline

Corey and Jimmy Woods are two brothers who are being separated due to their parents divorcing. Jimmy is a mentally unstable kid that has had problems ever since his sister died at a young age. One day, Corey discovers that Jimmy has a natural talent for playing video games. He is one of the best around, and the two journey to the West Coast to compete in a video game championship, but along the way, they must avoid the adults, who are trying to take Jimmy away.

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Plot Keywords:

championship | cross country | boy | girl | gambling | 

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Taglines:

It's more than a game... It's the chance of a lifetime.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

A varázsló

Filming Locations:

Cabazon, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$14,278,900 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Finnegan/Pinchuk Productions, Pipeline Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Jimmy, Corey & Haley are hustling the teenagers at the restaurant, it shows the game Jimmy is playing as F-1 Dream. In reality, the actual game Jimmy is playing is called Top Speed, although F-1 Dream is also a real game.

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Goofs

During the "Send Me An Angel" segue there is a scene showing Sam and Nick in the truck traveling. If you look closely that is the same exact scene from earlier in the movie before they got the truck damaged.

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Quotes

Haley: [shouts] Aaaaaaaah! He touched my breast!

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Connections

Features Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)

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Soundtracks

"I Live By The Groove"
by Paul Carrack

User Reviews

Fantastic Movie

This is a great movie. A classic nerd / gamer movie, and a must see for everyone who considers themselves a video game fan.

I'm not even going to get into the "Is it a real movie? Is it just a big commercial?"

Who CARES?!

It's a movie about kids playing video games. TMNT? The Power Glove? SMB3? Rad Racer? Come on!

Thus, it is awesome, and a classic.

If you love the NES, you will probably love it. If you love videogames in general, you will probably at least like it. If you hate videogames, well then you probably won't fully understand how great this is. If only you could.