Wishful Thinking (1999)

Undistinguished, straight-to-tape comedy-drama about a group of young people in New York hoping to find true love, apparently made by a gang of Hollywood friends just out to have a little fun. It's a competently-made but forgettable trifle financed by Miramax and developed by The Sundance Institute, none of whom could get this thing into theaters. Written and directed by Adam Park, who has a sitcom sense of humor and sense of timing to match. The cast--including Jennifer Beals, Drew Barrymore, James LeGros and...Jon Stewart (!)--tries hard, but they aren't given anything of interest to say or do. *1/2 from ****

OK, I had high hopes for this film. I thought the "He Said, She Said" type story would be cute. There were definite quirky things in the film that I thought would be developed better, but sadly no...It seemed like they spent time on the first three "chapters", got tired and gave up. Definitely had some promise that did not deliver. So what exactly do I mean? What was up with the blue door? From Max's perspective, when he broke into the apartment the door was blue, but from Elizabeth's perspective it was yellow? What was up with the spoon? Short story at the beginning but it was not really connected that much.Another thing, most movies that begin with "Two Years Earlier" give you some perspective as to when you are back in the present time. I guess when he was shaving it was assumed that you were somewhere near the beginning of the movie.I guess that was the real problem I had with the movie. It was more of a lot of disconnected ideas mixed up into one plot. It just seemed like a so much potential, but such a waste. Maybe the director had a lot of great ideas from film school he wanted to apply to his first film.

I know my one line summary was corny but I couldn't sum up my thoughts in one line. I originally saw this movie in order to see John Stewart and even though he's not the star of the movie, I enjoyed watching this movie and the other actors very much. It really compares what we "wish" for and how we deal with what reality brings to love and life. It had a very unique comical sense and plot. It's one of those movies that you'll be quoting for a while. I LOVED IT!!!

I just saw the movie on cable and I had a pleasant time. No it is not a movie I would go out of my way to watch again, but definitely not the worst in my list. True, the plot was very common and only the narration was short of inventive, but all in all not a bad movie. It is just that labeling it "romantic comedy" is misleading, it might be light but not a comedy. What prompted me to write about it was Jennifer Beals whom I think stole the show. I hadn't seen her since Flashdance (yuck) and I think she matured nicely. I might look for other recent movies that she played in.