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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Life is an occasion. Rise to it.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a conversation early in the film, Aidan Bloom's daughter, Grace, makes reference to the character (and movie) Yentl (1983), which co-starred Mandy Patinkin (who plays Avigdor, Yentl's love interest), who, in this film plays her grandfather, Gabe Bloom.

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Goofs

When they are roasting marshmallows, Grace is speaking and takes the marshmallow off one of her spokes. In the next shot, she has two marshmallows again.

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Quotes

Sarah Bloom: Well the wisdom that came up for me was that, the things left unsaid, stay with us forever. I wish nothing more than if I could tell my sister how much I loved her and that I always idolized her, but we never said those things. We just weren't like that. Then suddenly one day she's gone. And I have all these things to say, but no one to say them to.
Gabe: Both my boys know how I feel.
Sarah Bloom: Are you sure...

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Kate Hudson/Ellar Coltrane/Nico and Vinz (2014)

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Soundtracks

Broke Window
Written and performed by Gary Jules

User Reviews

Wish I Was Here Review

Admittedly, this is the first Zach Braff film I have seen. I only saw one trailer for the film, and it immediately intrigued me. I did not hate this film, but I also did not love and found myself in a lukewarm middle ground. For everything I liked, there was something I did not like.

First off, the story. The story as a whole deals with living life and dealing with death which was pulled off fairly well. However, there were several things in the script that I feel like took away from the film and the story Braff was telling. One of the those things were the laughs or lack thereof.

The script thinks its wittier and funnier than it actually is with most jokes missing that hitting. The movie also thinks it's deeper than it actually is. Maybe that's just Braff's style, but to me it seemed like it was more style over substance.

I did really enjoy the soundtrack for the film and Braff gave a good performance as a 30-something-year-old treading the water in his life.

I will definitely give Braff's future movies another shot and will see Garden State soon, but Wish I was Here was just not as good as I hoped it would be.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 July 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wish I Was Here

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$484,401, 20 July 2014

Gross USA:

$3,591,299

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,670,776

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