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| Courtesy of Focus Features |
Anyone
who has seen Scrubs or Garden State can tell you that Zach Braff is
polarizing, both as an actor and a filmmaker. For the most part, I happen to enjoy
the peculiar mixture of sentimentality and undergrad philosophizing inherent in
Braff’s narratives (“What if we’re not the ones who save the day? What if we’re
the regular people? The ones who get saved?”), yet I realize it can get on some
viewers’ nerves really fast.
I’ll
allow that it seems like Braff’s characters tend to believe they’re the first
people to have the obvious epiphanies they ultimately reach. But isn’t that how
it happens in real life? We hear greeting card-level clichés like “follow your
dreams” or “family is all that matters” our entire lives; nonetheless, they
feel like earth-shattering revelations when they sink in at the right moment.
Braff’s
latest comedic drama, Wish I Was Here, successfully captures the chaotic,
often intensely emotional season leading to such moments of simple, yet
profound, understanding. It opens Friday in a handful of theaters, but Focus
Features’ platform release schedule means it should play locally by the end of
the month.
Aidan
Bloom (Braff) is a struggling actor still looking for his big break in his mid-30s.
His incredibly patient wife, Sarah (Kate Hudson), works a loathsome data entry
job to provide for the family, but her support for Aidan’s dream is fading fast.
Things get even worse when Aidan’s ailing father (Mandy Patinkin) tells him he
can no longer pay his grandchildren’s private school tuition because he has to
put the money toward medical expenses.
Rather
than do the logical thing – put his kids (Joey King and Pierce Gagnon) in
public school – Aidan freaks out and decides to home school them, despite no
teaching experience whatsoever. For a while, it goes about as well as you’d
expect. But the experience changes something within Aidan, and he begins to reassess
what truly matters in life.
Garden
State has plenty of detractors, and they probably aren’t going to fall in love
with Wish I Was Here. However, even though the two films tread similar thematic
ground, Braff’s latest work is tempered by a decade of maturity. I can
understand that kind of growth.
Back
in 2004, I proclaimed Garden State the best movie of the year, ranking it
higher than Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kill Bill, Vol. 2, Collateral and The Incredibles. Yikes. But hindsight offers a glimpse into 23-year-old
Josh’s headspace. Anyone who knew me back then wouldn’t be surprised that I
responded so strongly to a film about a 20-something guy wandering aimlessly
through life and questioning his place in the world.
Similarly,
Braff (who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Adam) uses Wish I Was
Here to tackle difficult questions many people in their 30s struggle with. What
happens when you realize your dream isn’t going to come true? Can you have a
happy marriage when only one spouse is doing the heavy lifting? How do you prepare
kids for a world that can crush them in an instant? And perhaps most difficult of
all: how do you take care of the parent who once took care of you?
The
film’s answers to these questions are often unapologetically schmaltzy, but
they’re also effective. I could’ve done without the metaphorical fantasy
sequences – they feel like Scrubs leftovers and add unnecessary pretention to
a narrative that’s engaging on its own – but overall it’s a moving look at an
overgrown child finally deciding to improve himself and, in turn, strengthen his
family.
Two
of Braff’s biggest strengths are an ear for meaningful song selection and an
eye for casting. The music leans heavily on indie rock, but it helps to
establish the appropriate mood for most scenes. As for performances, the movie
is packed with them. Braff is solid as Aidan, but it’s the supporting cast that
stands out the most.
Hudson
delivers her best work in years, finally delivering on the promise she showed
in Almost Famous way back in 2000. She’s funny, she’s charming and it quickly
becomes apparent why it’s vital for Aidan to get his act together. King and
Gagnon are great as the kids, avoiding the typical cutesy affectations that
often cause child actors to come across as creepy and annoying. Between her
work here and on FX’s excellent Fargo, 2014 has been a banner year for Joey
King. I can’t wait to see the roles she gravitates toward over the next decade
or so.
Josh
Gad (parents will immediately recognize his voice – he’s Olaf the snowman in Frozen) also makes a strong impression in just a handful of scenes as Aidan’s
brother, who can’t overcome his animosity toward their father, even once they
learn how fast his health is deteriorating. But the film’s biggest selling
point is Patinkin, outstanding as the Bloom patriarch. He’s a complex character
who somehow manages to be simultaneously infuriating, endearing and
heartbreaking. It’s a reminder that many consider Patinkin to be one of the
greatest actors of our time.
Wish
I Was Here probably isn’t going to be a blockbuster smash, and it won’t
convert Braff’s detractors into fans. But those willing to overlook some of the
director’s quirkier choices will be rewarded with a funny, moving look at the
importance of family and selflessness.
Wish
I Was Here is rated R for language and some sexual content.
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