What You Wish For 2023 Fun Indie Thriller. Okay, so it’s been a little bit since I’ve written last. I’ve been spending most of my time creating, curating, and elevating my new blog – Film Exploder instead of hanging out here as much. Sure, I’ll still write when I find something worth writing about, but I’ve stopped doing back-flips to push 4 or 5 blog posts a week. Probably will work better all the way around anyway. Regardless, do me a favor and share the podcast with your friends and other film lovers. We’ve done 20 fun episodes now. Everything from Arrival, Anatomy of a Fall, The Platform, Enemy, Black Bear, The One I Love, Killing of a Sacred Deer, etc., etc. Check it out and let me know how we can make it better.
Why is “What You Wish For” your next low-budget fun film watch?? Because the idea is so great. Normally within Hollywood, you have an idea that is done over and over so much, that we never see anything new. But what Nicholas Tomnay has done with his screenplay and his film is just a really great idea unlike anything else that I’ve ever seen. But, I will say, for the squeamish among you? This isn’t for you. Let’s put it this way – if you enjoyed The Menu, or Brightwood?? Then this movie will be right up your alley.
From here on out – please know that this discussion is going to be riddled with spoilers. So, please, make sure that you head out and watch What You Wish For before you continue any further. And to help you out a bit?? Here are a few places you can go to watch online:
Alright. With those details taken care of, let’s away shall we?
What You Wish For Overview
As the movie opens, Jack and Ryan, old school roommates are reunited again after years and years. And during their initial reintroduction, Ryan is very envious about Jack’s amazing life. But Jack surprise Ryan with a quote that I knew was instantly critical to this particular film… “The Reward Always Matches the Atrocity.” Personally, with that quote, I immediately knew EXACTLY what was going on. I didn’t know the particulars obviously… but I was really clued in that we had a cabal of fine dining cannibals on our hands.
But it is really obvious that Jack isn’t doing well. The chaos and weight of what he is doing, day in and out, is really getting to him. And, after the duo bring Alice back to the amazing house that Jack is working in, Jack commits suicide. Ryan… jealous of Jack’s life, decides to falsify a passport and with that, he is away, taking over Jack’s life. Sure, there are a ton of little details that are a bit clunky here and there, but over all, it is pretty fun watching Ryan learn that his new life as Jack isn’t everything he had hoped it might be. And, eventually, when he realizes what his main ingredient was going to be?? He realizes that he might have proverbially bitten off a bit more than he can chew. Yeah, and I went into this review saying I wouldn’t. Sorry.
Ryan, now Jack, initially getting chased by bookies, and his only thought getting out from under $50k in debt, goes from pot to the fire. Sure, a bookie is bad… but have you ever messed with a gaggle of rich cannibals? I’m not thinking that is going to be a great time. I’m guessing they want to protect their investments and their very valuable entertainment. So, at every turn, Jack now finds himself boxed in. Worse, when Jack decides on his main course – a local native named Juan – and the local police start sniffing around, things have gone from bad, to horrible, to much much worse. Then later, when Alice shows back up, we have a trifecta of worse happening now. And when the guests at the dinner think it’ll be fun to toy with the detective searching for his nephew Juan? We just pile the various chaotic moments together into the same vat and stir.
The Idea Behind What You Wish For
If I had thought about the title for about 3 seconds I would have known how the movie had to end. I would have known that it would require a similar conversation that happened between Jack and Ryan where one person pines for the other person’s life… and that we needed to see that come full circle again. Because we all do this, right? We look at other people’s lives and we pine for what they have… and we don’t think it through at all. So this movie has a really interesting commentary on this idea. Everyone’s life is chaotic, and has elements of the good and the bad to be considered. But when you wish to be a chef that is cooking up cannibalistic entrees? That takes the thought, “BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR” to an all new level.
My Thoughts on What You Wish For
This is obviously a small budget film from the same writer/director that brought us The Perfect Host headed by David Hyde Pierce (which I’ve just watched as well, and really enjoyed the well-placed revenge details of – check it out, especially if you are a David Hyde Pierce fan… and I mean, who isn’t?). Yes, it’s a little uneven in places, but you know me, when watching super small budget, non-Hollywood films? I give all the grace, and then some. Just bring me the clever ideas! And that is what What You Wish For comes with, in spades. It’s a really fun idea… what would a world be like where a group of ultra-rich people pay to have a chef collect a human, kill them, and then serve them up in soups, main courses, and delicate desserts? And what would you do if you were trapped in such a society as this? A society where you are expected to not only kill someone, but also make sure that the meat selection has been well cared for as it …. pastured. Or something?
Mainly, I’m really curious where the idea for this movie came from. It’s a clever conceit. And speaks to a profound desire within all of us to wish for greener grass elsewhere. I think it’d be pretty fun to chat with the writer/director of this film and get under the hood of this idea. Lot of really cool ideas happening here and would love to see a lot more stories from this unique thinker. Hopefully you enjoyed it, a concept piece that should make you wonder why the grass is actually greener right where you are standing… so what if it’s brown? Get the watering can out, dangit!
Edited by: CY