Wide Awake (1998)

A 10-year-old boy goes on a search for God after his grandfather dies.

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer:

M. Night Shyamalan

Stars:

Joseph Cross, Timothy Reifsnyder, Dana Delany

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joseph Cross	...	Joshua Beal
Timothy Reifsnyder	...	Dave O'Hara
Dana Delany	...	Mrs. Beal
Denis Leary	...	Mr. Beal
Robert Loggia	...	Grandpa Beal
Rosie O'Donnell	...	Sister Terry
Camryn Manheim	...	Sister Sophia
Vicki Giunta	...	Sister Beatrice
Julia Stiles	...	Neena Beal
Heather Casler	...	Hope
Dan Lauria	...	Father Peters
Stefan Niemczyk	...	Frank Benton
Michael Pacienza	...	Freddie Waltman
Michael Shulman	...	Robert Brickman
Jaret Ross Barron	...	Dan

Storyline

A fifth grader goes on a search for God after his grandfather dies. Along the way he gets into tons of trouble at Waldron Academy an all-boys school. Also he is aided on his search by a sports-loving nun.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | boys' school | school | fifth grader | 10 year old | 

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Taglines:

First kisses. Outrageous pranks. A teacher with a killer fastball. To survive this year, Joshua Beal will have to stay...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Más astuto que nunca

Filming Locations:

Bryn Mawr College - 101 N. Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$95,875, 22 March 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$258,212, 5 April 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax,Woods Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although released in 1998, the film was actually produced in 1995.

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Goofs

Robert Loggia's character is listed as Grandpa Beal, but during the picture the character Joshua A. Beal explains that "Grandpa was my mom's dad" and that would most likely mean that Beal is not Grandpa's last name, since it is his mother's married name.

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Quotes

Mr. Beal: Joshua, the pope is not God.
Joshua A. Beal: I know that, but he's his best friend.
Mr. Beal: We're not going to Rome.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Wild Things/Niagara, Niagara/Mr. Nice Guy/Wide Awake/Fireworks (1998)

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Soundtracks

THIS AIN'T A SONG (IT'S A PRAYER)
Performed by John Carbo
Music and Lyrics by John Carbo
Published by Kingmaker Music (BMI)

User Reviews

It's the story of a young man who is faced with the challenge of learning how to deal with death.

While many people believe this movie is not worth the time and use the low grossing as evidence to back that up, I believe it is an excellent coming of age story. It shows us how children deal with death and reminds us that sometimes it takes a tragedy to open our eyes. It may be a little mundane to use a child as the center for a coming of age drama to give the audience a lesson in how to deal with death, but this movie does a really good job of waking us up. I cried and I laughed. Each time I cried it was real and sad, but each time I laughed it was heartfelt and even if for a fraction of a second that laugh made me happy. It is hard to find a quality movie that is able to invoke such an emotional response.