American Wrestler: The Wizard (2016)

In 1980, a teenage boy escapes the unrest in Iran only to face more hostility in America, due to the hostage crisis. Determined to fit in, he joins the school's floundering wrestling team.

Director:

Alex Ranarivelo

Writers:

Ali Afshar (story by), Brian Rudnick (story by)

Stars:

George Kosturos, William Fichtner, Ali Afshar

10 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Kosturos	...	Ali Jahani
William Fichtner	...	Coach Plyler
Ali Afshar	...	Hafez Tabad
Lia Marie Johnson	...	Kristi Larsen
Gabriel Basso	...	Jimmy Petersen
Jon Voight	...	Principal Skinner
Sasha Feldman	...	Dan 'Toad' Webster
Chase Mowen	...	Mike Thornhill
Kevin G. Schmidt	...	Rowan Knox
Nicholas Guilak	...	Pasha
Shannon Collis	...	Wendy
Karina Andrews	...	Miss Larsen
Tony Panterra	...	Mr. Jahani
Salome Azizi	...	Mrs. Jahani
John Asadi	...	Truck Driver

Storyline

In this inspiring tale based on true events, 17-year-old Ali Jahani is a newcomer to a small California town, where he stands out as different in an unwelcoming community. Living with his embittered uncle, the boy faces a mountain of adversity everywhere he turns. Rejected by everyone but determined to fit in, he joins the school's floundering wrestling team. With a chance to change how others see him, Ali must step up and learn to be a hero.

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Plot Keywords:

truck | knocking | leaving the country | checkpoint | farsi | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, some disturbing images, language and thematic material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Persian French Spanish

Release Date:

16 May 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Wrestler

Filming Locations:

Petaluma, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$0, 3 May 2017, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

ESX Entertainment,ESX Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The championship match was filmed in a gymnasium on campus at Santa Rosa Junior College.

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Goofs

Whereas Sectionals, Districts or Regionals leading up to State Tournaments may be held in high school gyms, State Tournaments are large scale events held in coliseums, with multiple mats running simultaneously - not just one. Just about every seat would be filled, especially those nearest the action. You would not have a championship final where, looking past the boys on the mat, you'd see row upon row of empty seats.

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Quotes

Dan 'Toad' Webster: I've taken on tougher sons of bitches than Knox.
Jimmy Petersen: Not with your pants on.

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Connections

Followed by American Fighter

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Soundtracks

Rise
Music by Jamie Christopherson
Lyrics by Shani Rigsbee
Performed by Andy (feat. Shanti)
Courtesy of Cherokee Music Group

User Reviews

Inspiring and easy to watch

I have found this movie by accidental click on IMDb and decided to watch it without waiting. I am wrestler too and I am always very interested how actors will handle wrestler roles and how wrestling feeling will be represented in the movie. I was not expecting a lot from this movie and in the end I was not disappointed.

Movie is based on true events and that is definitely a plus, since I can also learn something about events I am not familiar with. There are a lot of serious topics, like descrimination, bullying in school, relationships between generations and of course, wrestling. Competitions and training are shown quite realistic. There was only 1 moment in whole movie, when Ali's uncle shows one of the basic moves and wrestlers look at him like they have learned something new, but I believe It was made just to keep things more simple.

In the end It's a well made movie which is not exceptional, but I definitely can recommend it even if you're not a sport lover.