A Brilliant Conflict

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) made not only great money, but also great effect on the 1980s movies. Short Circuit (1986), Too Much (1987), Mac and Me (1988) are some of the frank examples. Then, Three Wishes came in 1995 as if a late and loose remake of E.T. Review carefully with me : A kid with no father, just a struggling mother. The quiet, if not dead, suburban, where nothing unusual happens. The strange, yet kind, visitor. The miracles ensue. The friendship with that "alien". The refusal of the other people for that friendship and that "alien". The visitor's visit ends. And there is a little bicycle chase at the end too ! Three Wishes has many good points. Director Martha Coolidge created such a pretty tender image and pace. Nearly every moment in the movie is beautifully sentimental. I loved the dreamy, rather miraculous, moments of the younger brother (with the bizarre creature, or while the flying sequence). Also, these tremendous shots for the too similar, too equal, houses of that huge suburban of a city; which portrayed the need for something different, proved that anything different would be naturally unique, and assured the difficulty of its continuation in a "canned human" factory like this (at one shot it sounded more like a big cemetery). And it's not perfect without leading the cast cleverly. It's where I can safely say; that no one in the movie acted in any bad way.Patrick Swayze was one of the unluckiest stars of Hollywood. I didn't understand that man's problem. He had charisma, talent, and couple of hits (the first two are enough to achieve immortality !), though at one point he unexplainably disappeared from Hollywood's map. Maybe his choices were wrong, and Hollywood didn't have mercy on him. I don't exactly know. All what I know, that we lost him long before his death out of cancer in 2009. Here, Swayze showed us why he was one of a kind, with super performance of a man wanted to be himself, even if that meant being different than all who were around him. He was deeply wounded, delicate, wise, and romantic; namely every lonely woman's dream of a drifter. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (I've always believed it's an ugly name) is one of the best actresses of her generation. She can give the right performance every time, evoking a lot of feelings inside you, with genius concentration and truthful eyes. Even Joseph Mazzello was more than fine, his tears were memorably genuine and touching.Now, cut to the no good points. Simply, I lay all the movie's faults at the script's door. It made annoyingly realistic fantasy. It truly lacks imaginary details, or – in best cases – is stingy when it comes to fantasy. If Swayze was a good ghost, then what could be his powers and miracles ? (only he has a handwriting that nobody sees ??!!). Sure his dog makes way better and more impressive ghost ! So, whether the goal was making that dog the lead character, or making Swayze the most realistic ghost ever; it weakened the movie, and betrayed its premise. Furthermore, the movie gets muddled near its end. Was she in love with he ? What did he learn out of his journey ? And the lesson of "Be satisfied with what you have, whatever that is" doesn't fit with the extremely happy end, where all the wishes are fulfilled (How to become content with what you have, while I give you freely all what you haven't !). And as far as this script errs, I believe that the conversations between the lead and the younger brother were the weakest. Clearly this script was too slack to write an appropriate bedtime story to be told !So that's why the movie feels boring or too long. Because all the time you're waiting for a fantasy to happen, and nothing happens. And you're waiting for the story's meanings to unfold, and nothing unfolds, at least in a way harmonizes with this story. In fact, the best moral this movie led to is the importance of individualism, especially in a society with one form for everything and everyone (so 1955 isn't chosen pointlessly). And instead of E.T., the extra-terrestrial who wants to go home, this round we have an early hippie, who doesn't want to go home, or believe in homes in the first place.Despite being a smooth piece of cinema, Three Wishes is empty for most of the time. Its tagline says "If you really believe, magic will find you.", well, I do believe, but the problem is that this movie doesn't have enough "magic" !

This movie is better than the rating suggests. Patrick Swayze displays some tremendous acting skills as the ever blue Jack McCloud, a tramp and thorough loner. He is sincere and pervasive, as is Joseph Mazzello as Tom. The evolving relationship between the two of them is one of the three major themes of the movie. It is a relationship propelled by Tom's dear wish to have some male person around he can relate to and rely on, as his father is apparently absent. Jack, who joins the family as a stranger, develops a kind of deep and caring commitment towards the three family members. He doesn't push for it, it just happens. The second theme focuses around M.E. Mastrantonio's brilliant performance as Jeanne Holman, Tom's and Gunny's mom. Her despair mingled with hope and confidence makes her the archetype of the single parent of the Mid-50s, the era which is so superbly revived as the movie's setting. The third theme centers around Gunny, Tom's little brother, his belief in magic and fairies as well as his fears. This is the movie's underlying main theme, as the title itself suggests. The end, which makes you feel good and renews faith in what we have and ought to preserve and care for, reveals the message of the title and grants this movie an inspiring and deeply human message. Magic is out there - in everything we do and everything we dream of. It is the little things, the little signs of love and affection, of hope and endurance. Tom himself, as an adult, receives reassurance in his faith and his values by what Jack has done to his family when he was a young boy. The message is brilliant and makes this movie a solid 8/10. "Be yourself", Jack advises Tom. "And be happy with what you have" he adds much later in the movie. Hope and love will endure against all odds, if we allow magic into our lives. The same magic we believed in as kids. It is still there. You just have to admit it.

I saw this for rent last summer in the video store, I used to own it when it was brand new, and I was excepting a really old-fashioned era movie. I asked my mom about it, she said it was such a very, very uplifting, great movie. I got a good idea, it could be a modern day twist on Aladdin, set in LA, and Mazzello could be an orphan, streetrat in the big city. Thought would so rock. Let's get to the movie, Jeanne Holman (Mastrantonio) is struggling to raise her two sons, Tom (Mazzello), about 11, and Gunny about 5. Gunny has cancer, and Tom sucks at baseball, and is looking for a father figure, since his father is presumed to of died in the Korean war, and Swayze's good as the vaggrant, who turns out to be a drifter, who accompanies a genie that's actually a dog, Tom's friends think he's scary and peculiar, but turns out to be kind, eccentric, and even tells stories, that tell us about his dreamy, fantasy life, I get frustrated when I can't play baseball, and lose my temper sort of easy, because I've tried for so long, and I can relate to this, it's helpful if you're struggling at something. Tom is NOT a normal kid in my opinion, despite what reviews said say he's sensitive, and serious and is an outcast looking for a family. Just like the Real Joe with emotional challenges.

Although I must admit I cried several times towards the ending of this movie (probably a highly emotional day for me), I really thought there were a lot of missing pieces in it. The most predominate I suppose is the almost total absence of the plot containing "Gunny" youngest son after we learn he has cancer. The mother continues to date and socialize, even bed a drifter. The audience finds themselves wondering what happened to the young child and filling in blanks themselves. (all the while the child is day dreaming in his bedroom? No wonder he talks to the dog since everyone else has forgotten him...