A Simple Wish (1997)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writer (WGA):

Jeff Rothberg (written by)

Release Date:

11 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

Your wish is his command... sort of.

Plot:

Murray is a male fairy godmother, and he is trying to help 8-year-old Anabel to fulfil her "simple wish" - that her father Oliver...

Plot Keywords:

Magic | Wish | Magic Wand | Fairy Godmother | Revenge

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Robert Pastorelli	...	Oliver Greening
Ruby Dee	...	Hortense
Francis Capra	...	Charlie Greening
Jonathan Hadary	...	Lord Richard
Deborah Odell	...	Jeri
Mara Wilson	...	Anabel Greening
Amanda Plummer	...	Boots
Alan Campbell	...	Tony Sable
Kathleen Turner	...	Claudia
Lanny Flaherty	...	Duane
Teri Garr	...	Rena
Martin Short	...	Murray
Clare Coulter	...	Ms. Bramble
Neil Foster	...	Manny
Jaime Tirelli	...	Joe

Also Known As:

The Fairy Godmother (Canada: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language.

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Australia:G | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | France:U | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Brooks, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Bubble Factory, The

Quotes:

Murray: [officer leaves Murray in between the bars] Officer! Wait! Are you going to get a donut?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Basic but enjoyable little family film

Anabel's father is a New York horse-drawn carriage driver but hopes to become a Broadway star. With his next audition he is ready to throw it all in and go work in his cousin's rendering plant on Nebraska. Anabel wishes for her fairy godmother to help them but, because the majority of them are tied up at the annual conference she has to make do with the failing trainee Murray. She quickly finds that Murray is not quite as good as he has told her and most of their time is spent trying to correct his mistakes. Things are more complicated when they are pursued by witch Claudia, who has trapped all the other godmothers and only needs Murray's wand to finalise her attempts at total power.

Although I taped this film in error thinking it was something else, I still ended up watching it as it was a bonus family film to act as distraction. Normally I wouldn't bother with such a thing but on this occasion I did and the end product was a basic but quite entertaining film that had enough to stop it being boring for me and enough silliness and energy to make it enjoyable for children. The narrative is a bit messy, for a while it is about Murray's weakness as a Fairy Godmother but then it becomes a big finish around a plot by Claudia to get all the power for herself. The two strands don't sit well together at all, and the latter just feels like it has been added to bulk the former out and give it more impact as a dramatic finish. However, it is quite amusing along the way and children will enjoy the mix of silliness, effects and magic.

The cast are OK and are a good part of this working. Short is a bit irritating but he does overplay the silliness well enough to provide distraction. Turner seems to enjoy herself even if her role is a bit smaller than I'm sure she expected; meanwhile Plummer does her usual "slightly unhinged" thing but this time as a dog. Pastorelli has little to do but Wilson and Capra are both engaging without being like the very sickly All-American kids that US family films can be dripping with.

Overall this is a family film and therefore not the sort of thing any adult would really chose to watch alone because there isn't much just for them, even if it isn't bad as such. The energy, silliness and pace of the film will make it a winner for children and it serves well as a distraction if hardly a great film for the ages.