Wish I Was Here (2014)

A struggling actor, father and husband finds himself at a major crossroads, which forces him to examine his life, his family and his career.

Director:

Zach Braff

Writers:

Adam J. Braff, Zach Braff

Stars:

Zach Braff, Joey King, Pierce Gagnon

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zach Braff	...	Aidan Bloom
Pierce Gagnon	...	Tucker Bloom
Kate Hudson	...	Sarah Bloom
Joey King	...	Grace Bloom
Alexander Chaplin	...	Rabbi Rosenberg
Leslie David Baker	...	Audition Actor #1
James Avery	...	Audition Actor #2
Ato Essandoh	...	Audition Actor #3
Jim Parsons	...	Paul
Mark Thudium	...	Terry
Mandy Patinkin	...	Gabe
Josh Gad	...	Noah Bloom
Allan Rich	...	Rabbi Twersky
Ashley Greene	...	Janine
Michael Weston	...	Jerry

Storyline

'Wish I Was Here' is the story of Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor, father and husband, who at 35 is still trying to find his identity; a purpose for his life. He winds up trying to home school his two children when his father can no longer afford to pay for private education and the only available public school is on its last legs. Through teaching them about life his way, Aidan gradually discovers some of the parts of himself he couldn't find.

---

Plot Keywords:

dream sequence | crowdfunded | struggling actor | actor | money problems | 

---

Taglines:

Life is an occasion. Rise to it.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 July 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bárcsak itt lennék

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$484,401, 20 July 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,588,432, 7 September 2014

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,483,299, 12 October 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Worldview Entertainment, Double Feature Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The costume worn by Paul (Jim Parsons) on the set of the cheesy sci-fi series towards the film's end is the same one worn by the crew members of the 'Protector' in Galaxy Quest (1999).

---

Goofs

When Janine is talking to Gabe in the hospital, her arms change change positions multiple times between shots.

---

Quotes

Aidan Bloom: [From opening] "When I was a kid my brother and I used to pretend we were heroes with swords. We were the only ones who could save the day. but perhaps we set the bar a little bit high. Maybe we were just regular people, the ones who get saved."

---

Connections

References Star Trek (1966)

---

Soundtracks

Holocene
Written by Justin Vernon
Performed by Bon Iver
(2011)
Courtesy of Jagjaguwar
By Arrangement with Bank Robber Music

User Reviews

Nicely done

While this is a Zach Braff movie, it's Josh Gad who has a lot of scene-stealer scenes. Not sure if you could (or should) compare him to early Jack Black, but if you do that analogy/comparison on the degree of how funny they are, I guess you can. Although Gad seems a bit more low key of course (and not only in this, but other movies he did).

Zach is doing his usual thing, which isn't bad, but might feel a bit like the same to viewers. And still the movie is able to get you towards the end, if you have a soft spot for drama. Like I said, I credit Gad mostly for that, but the kid actors are not bad either. This drama is not as good as some others I watched in 2014, but it's more than decent enough