Page 34 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & III • August 6, 2014 Braff brothers’ ‘Wish I Was Here’ tells original story by Dennis Seuling In “Wish I Was Here,” Aidan Bloom (Zach Braff) is a struggling actor whose wife, Sarah (Kate Hudson), basically supports the family. Aidan’s caustic father (Mandy Patinkin) wants his grandchildren raised as orthodox Jews and pays their tuition at a yeshiva. Upon learning that his cancer has taken a turn for the worse, the grandfather enrolls in a costly experimental pro- gram and can no longer afford the tuition. Meanwhile, Sarah toils at a dull job and endures sexual harassment from a coworker. Because the job is essential to the family, she is torn between coping with the unpleasantness herself or reporting it to man- agement. Unaware of his wife’s uncomfortable work situation, Aidan continues to go on auditions that lead nowhere. Aidan’s brother, Noah (Josh Gad), lives reclusively in a trailer by the ocean and focuses on winning a Comic Con costume competition. Both brothers resent many of their father’s parenting choices, but while Aidan deals with the imminent death of their dad, Noah closes him- self off to it. In summer, it is a pleasure to see a movie about real people undergoing realistic conflicts rather than mega- budget flicks about alien invasions, trucks that trans- form into marauding robots, superhero angst, and odd slants on Biblical stories. The beauty of “Wish I Was Here” is its smallness — not in dramatic substance, but in filmmaking restraint. Braff, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Adam and directed, focuses on a set of solid characters rather than cinematic dazzle to involve viewers. The story, which Braff claims is semi-autobiographical, is about choices, realizations, and dreams — not fantasies, but achievable goals. Aidan wants to be a successful actor, but there is enormous competition and he has not worked in some time. Even as his family situation is thrown a curve- ball, he forges ahead, ever hoping that the next audition will lift him from anonymity to fame. Aidan is likable but selfish, considering the support of the family is not equally shared. He clings to acting, which he refers to as “my dream,” despite the financial strain, kids who might have to be put into public school mid-term, a dying father, an unsympathetic rabbi, and an over- stressed life. It is to Braff’s credit as actor that he manages to elicit sympathy for Aidan. He projects a likable personality and much of his charm from the TV series “Scrubs” comes through here. As director, he elicits uniformly first-rate performances. Joey King, who plays Aidan’s teenage daughter, Grace, turns in a particularly moving performance. As writer, however, he allows some awk- ward lapses in logic. Aidan’s attempts to home-school his kids until the end of the term are meant to show, comically, his ineptness as an educator. His choices simply do not make sense and appear what they are - - contrivances. Gad, in a quirky role with little dialogue, makes Noah real. He is funny, yes, but also has inner pain. Viewers laugh at Noah’s preoccupation with tasks that might be more appropriate to 12-year-olds, yet see him as a sad, troubled adult in a key scene late in the picture. It is in this scene that Noah becomes more than a visual gag. Hudson does some of her best screen work as Sarah. Braff has made her a major character rather than merely a wifely presence. Sarah is loving, smart, supportive, worried, frustrated, sympathetic, and wise — a combi- nation of elements Hudson conveys beautifully. She is the family’s rock. A hospital scene between Hudson and Patinkin stands out. She imparts wisdom to a stubborn, dying man in a scene that avoids sentimentality by its easy naturalness. Patinkin neatly steals every scene he is in with his strong, austere presence. He has some of the film’s best one-liners, delivered in a low-key, casual manner. This style is a marked contrast to movie comedies in which actors ham up tepid lines to give the dialogue extra oomph. Patinkin fully inhabits the character of a man who has not been the best dad and regrets much, but does not know how to make things right with his sons. His comments are biting, yet amusing in their cyni- cism. Rated R, “Wish I Was Here” is that rare cinematic achievement: a triple threat. With Braff as co-writer, director, and star, he must bear nearly full responsibility for the picture’s success or failure. Fortunately, he has crafted an involving movie lightened with humor in just the right doses, and manages to tell an original story. Viewers who are tired of the usual noisy summer spe- cial-effects extravaganzas will find “Wish I Was Here” a veritable oasis. Zach Braff, Kate Hudson, and Pierce Gagnon in ‘Wish I Was Here.’