The Wizard

A cross between Rain Man and an extended commercial for Nintendo (the videogame magnate), this rather mawkish comedy-drama stars Fred Savage (of TV's The Wonder Years) as Corey who, along with his big brother (Christian Slater), live with their estranged father (Beau Bridges). Corey's half-brother Jimmy (Luke Edwards) is an emotionally disturbed youngster who lives with their mother. When Jimmy is institutionalized, Corey comes to his rescue and the siblings head for "California" (Jimmy's only word of dialogue for most of the film). Enroute, they discover that Jimmy has a special gift (no, it's not being able to precisely determine the number of toothpicks spilled on the floor): he's a video wizard. Joining forces with Haley (Jenny Lewis), another teenage outcast, the trio barter their way across western America as they race against time and a hired child bounty hunter to enter Jimmy in a national videogame championship being held in L.A. There are, of course, plot holes in the film that would give Evil Knievel the queasies, and the whole shebang has the depth of a cartoon, but young adults are likely to enjoy unreservedly this paean to videogame mania. An optional purchase. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review—Sept. 5, 2006—Universal, 100 min., PG, $14.98—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1989's The Wizard sports a nice transfer and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound, but no DVD extras. Bottom line: although extra-less, this rather mawkish effort holds serious nostalgic value for twentysomethings who cut their teeth on Super Mario Bros.]