Wish I Was Here

In my opinion, the critics have it all wrong with this film.

"Wish I Was Here" from director and writer Zach Braff ("Garden State") is another terrific film that deals with real life issues that most can relate to. Not only does Braff's direction capture Southern California and human emotion quite well, his screenplay is witty, smart and deep.

To top it off, Zach Braff's performance as a 35-year-old father, husband and struggling actor is terrific. He works well with his supporting cast including Kate Hudson, in her best performance in a long time, Mandy Patinkin, Joey King and Josh Gad.

If you are looking for a film about self discovery topped with comedy and deep human emotions, then give "Wish I Was Here" a try and ignore the critics. This may be one of my favorite films of the year.

At the Guild 45th in Wallingford, I went to a matinée of Zach Braff's just released film Wish I Was Here. The making of this film was somewhat controversial because Braff used Kickstarter to raise funds for the film he co-wrote with his brother Adam Braff, so that he could make it exactly how he wanted to. While I enjoyed the film and found it to be touching and moving at times and very funny at other times, there was nothing about it that was brilliant. The cast includes Braff as Aidan Bloom, Kate Hudson as his supportive wife Sarah, Mandy Patinkin as his father, Josh Gad as his brother Noah, and Joey King and Pierce Gagnon as his daughter and son. I thought King was quite good in her role as an almost teen-aged girl.

I certainly don't regret seeing this film, but there really isn't much to recommend it either. But if you happen to be somewhere where it is playing and are just a bit curious, go ahead and see it. I don't think you will regret it.

I was a backer of this movie on Kickstarter that got a online viewing. Zach Braff has created a beautiful movie, something realistic that many can relate to. I have no idea why people would give this such a low rating, even if it's not your cup of tea you can not deny the movie of what it deserves, it is a great film.

I laughed and I cried. Wish I Was Here touched me on such a emotional level mainly because I had to watch my Father die of cancer like so many people in this world have had to. And I could relate to the character Noah (Josh Gad) that played Zachs brother in the film.

The performances were great, especially by Mandy Patinkin who just BLEW me away. His acting class. The depth of each of the characters in this movie was amazing, and this is the reason why so many people should be able to relate to at least one of the characters.

I'm not much of a writer, nor am I a reviewer, in fact this is my first ever on IMDb, but I felt compelled to write about it to help give this movie the respect it deserves. So glad I invested in this movie and helped make it happen. If you are looking for something that will tug at your heart but also make you laugh, then go and see it if you get a chance, you won't regret it. Will be watching it again as soon as I can.

What is that Zach Braff can't do? Nothing. He can write, direct and act perfectly. Wish I was here is a perfect story that proves this. The movie starts with the childhood dream of two brothers which was to be great and how it is realised by them in the end. The actual problems of family, dreams , expectations are all beautifully depicted. It has its moments, great moments. Not meeting the hopes of a father, a not so ambitious brother, religious children, the wife who works to support the family and the guy who still pursues his dream to be an actor.

Satisfaction, creativity, hope and living your dreams are the words which you will get familiar with in the end.

The music is alive and amazing. The movie has a voice and it is the most important part of telling a story.

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.