Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more

 

Wisdom (1986)

Director: Emilio Estevez

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

A bathtub wallow in teenage narcissism. John Wisdom (Estevez), convicted of drunk driving at eighteen, finds it tough getting a decent job. Five years later, he's still living with Mom and Pop, and spending a great deal of time in front of the mirror (but it's OK folks, he's got a girl). Fired from Cityburger for lying, he opts for a career in felony. A TV programme on the social effects of bank foreclosure shows him what to do. Armed with home-made bombs, our suburban guerilla holds up banks, not for megabucks but to destroy all traces of mortgage agreements. With his chick (Moore) as chauffeuse, he travels the road pursued by the FBI. The cute couple become public heroes. It all ends in tears. As Wisdom (the name represents the single feeble attempt at irony), Estevez demonstrates an undeniable charisma, but in the roles of writer and director he is less successful. What initiative there is in this retread gets swamped by silliness, slackness and sentiment.

Author: MS 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.