Three Wishes (1995) Patrick Swayze, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Joseph Mazzello, Seth Mumy Movie Review

Three Wishes (1995)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Patrick Swayze in Three Wishes (1995)

This, That and the Other

Whilst driving with her two sons, Tom (Joseph Mazzello) and Gunny (Seth Mumy), Jane Homan (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) accidentally runs in to Jack Mcloud (Patrick Swayze), a drifter who suffers a broken leg in the accident. Feeling bad for what has happened to the drifter she invites him and his dog Betty Jane to come and stay whilst he convalesces. After initially struggling living is a house Jack soon comes to feel like part of the family who enjoy having him around specially when he teaches Tom baseball, who is struggling since his father went missing in the Korean war. But Gunny is more curious as to who Jack really is and sets out to uncover the truth about him.

Everything and the kitchen sink is what you find in "Three Wishes" and it makes it a rather eclectic movie especially when you watch as part of a TV stations festive season of movies. How eclectic well it opens in the 1990s with a man having to move his family after his business failed and then it flashes back to his youth and his mum running over a wanderer with a dog. Doesn't seem that unusual but the dog seems to be very knowing and has almost magical abilities whilst the man lives a very different lifestyle to others leading to Jane's neighbours complaining when he sunbathes in the back garden.

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in Three Wishes (1995)

There is a lot more to this movie as well with an old friend of Jane's who has feelings for her whilst there is more mystery surrounding Jack as he has a military medal. Plus there is baseball and a kid struggling with a coach who shouts at his team a lot. I really could go on more because it feels like I have barely scratched the surface of "Three Wishes" and because there seems to be so much going on, even serious illness and a mention of aliens, that it is all a little too over the place even though it is clear that Jack is this sort of healing spirit to enter the Homan home and try help not only the children but also Jane.

Now I have to say that the real reason I watched is because of Patrick Swayze and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and both deliver solid and appealing performances but their characters are not memorable. But I reckon there is something else which will appeal to some and that is the nostalgia factor of those who grew up during the times it was set and maybe remember living in a pastel coloured building on a new development or cycling down the park to play baseball on a Saturday morning.

What this all boils down to is that "Three Wishes" is a movie which at its heart has a good message, it also has an appealing cast and for some maybe even a slice of nostalgic appeal. But for me whilst there were some wonderful smile moments in "Three Wishes" it ends up all over the place, trying to cover too much and being worse off for trying to.


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