Wide Awake (1998)

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer (WGA):

M. Night Shyamalan (written by)

Release Date:

20 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

First kisses. Outrageous pranks. A teacher with a killer fastball. To survive this year, Joshua Beal will have to stay...

Plot:

A 10 year old boy goes on a search for God after his grandfather dies.

Plot Keywords:

Children | Crisis Of Faith | Boarding School | Death Of Loved One | Grief

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Joseph Cross	...	Joshua Beal
Timothy Reifsnyder	...	Dave O'Hara
Dana Delany	...	Mrs. Beal
Denis Leary	...	Mr. Beal
Robert Loggia	...	Grandpa Beal
Rosie O'Donnell	...	Sister Terry
Camryn Manheim	...	Sister Sophia
Vicki Giunta	...	Sister Beatrice
Julia Stiles	...	Neena Beal
Heather Casler	...	Hope
Dan Lauria	...	Father Peters
Stefan Niemczyk	...	Frank Benton
Michael Pacienza	...	Freddie Waltman
Michael Shulman	...	Robert Brickman
Jaret Ross Barron	...	Dan

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and thematic elements.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | USA:PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Bryn Mawr College - 101 N. Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [M. Night Shyamalan] [Philadelphia]

Goofs:

Continuity: During the girls' ceremony, Hope's rose changes from one more fully open and blush colored, to a more tightly closed, whiter bud.

Quotes:

Joshua A. Beal: Before this year bullies were just bullies for no reason, weirdoes were just weird, and daredevils weren't afraid of anything. Before this year, people I loved lived forever. I spent this year looking for something and wound up seeing everything around me. It's like I was asleep before and finally woke up. Know what? I'm wide-awake now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

BLAME

It's the story of a young man who is faced with the challenge of learning how to deal with death.

While many people believe this movie is not worth the time and use the low grossing as evidence to back that up, I believe it is an excellent coming of age story. It shows us how children deal with death and reminds us that sometimes it takes a tragedy to open our eyes. It may be a little mundane to use a child as the center for a coming of age drama to give the audience a lesson in how to deal with death, but this movie does a really good job of waking us up. I cried and I laughed. Each time I cried it was real and sad, but each time I laughed it was heartfelt and even if for a fraction of a second that laugh made me happy. It is hard to find a quality movie that is able to invoke such an emotional response.