The Wishmakers (2011)
(also known as The Wishmakers of West Hollywood)
Making wishes for love is certainly one place to start the search. But these guys are looking for different things in different places.
The scoop from Amazon: Newly arrived in Los Angeles to pursue their ambitions, three gay friends wish for love and success in a city that’s notorious for crushing dreams.
To expand on this a bit, Ben, Jason, and Corey are the three friends who are trying to find themselves in LA. Ben is newly there and newly out. Jason is the comedian who wants a big break through finding someone to give him one. And Corey is … Corey. Almost in American Pie style, they make a wish in a fountain (versus making a pact) to find love in LA.
Ben’s story is the most apparent and developed as he looks for a relationship. He’s willing to work for it just like he’s willing to work his way into LA. He starts with some unfortunate dates and then an unfortunate relationship. Perhaps it’s because he’s newly out and new to a relationship that he’s invested in, he puts up with far more than he should have. Some of the dialogue and scenes where the first relationship is developing/falling apart is a little awkward. But that could just be my irritation with the guy he’s dating. I would have walked away far sooner.
The other two characters feel like they have less development. Jason finds a relationship, but it’s not as real or well-developed. Corey finds a relationship, but it is certainly not traditional in any sense. I’m not sure if Corey is having some kind of identity crisis or is just eccentric – he’s almost a different persona in every scene except when he’s working for the Hollywood star. I would have liked to see more development with these two – otherwise their characters feel a little like third wheels to the story.
One character that I liked quite a bit was the shaman-like man who seeded to have all the wisdom in the movie wrapped up in the joint he was smoking. He grounded the others and the story, and occasionally made it all make more sense. On the other hand, the high-pitched character made me about want to claw my eyes out – I’m not sure exactly which of the reasons were the most irritating.
Each of them finds what they are looking for in their own way, and perhaps here we see a theme. Love looks different to each of us, and we all have our own conceptions of what a relationship is to us. For some it’s a committed, long-term relationship. For others it’s someone to have fun with. Sometimes love is just a deep, human connection with another person. None of them are right or wrong.
The movie has a 1970s feel to it, although I’m not sure what that brings to the story. The production values are adequate. I found the ending to be a little one-sided as I’m not sure why we only end with the one main character. I would have liked a little more focus, tighter dialogue, and more development of the other characters.
Availability:
TLA: DVD and Streaming
Netflix: Streaming
Amazon: DVD and Streaming
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