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A Simple Wish (1997)

Director: Michael Ritchie

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Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Little Anabel (Wilson) loves New York, but her careworn dad (a widower) threatens to drag her off to Nebraska if he doesn't get the lead in a Broadway musical. Enter Murray (Short), the first male fairy godmother, and hopeless to boot. Anabel's confused about her wishes, and with the appearance of megalomaniac Claudia (Turner) - a good godmother turned bad - it seems like curtains. Murray looks interesting (think Emo Phillips impaled on Maurice Gibb's teeth), but is he a super-modern wit or the traditional lovable clown? It might've been nice if he'd become emotionally connected to Anabel or, indeed, to any of the other characters. His antics, however, are uninvolving, and Claudia, though a similarly lazy construct, steals the show. Like Frankenstein, director Ritchie has begged and borrowed from too many sources.

Author: CO'Su 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

  • Bruce013 said...
    Posted on Apr 23 2009 23:40 An interesting film, with the lovely Mara Wilson, who plays sweet little Anabel, whose simple wish that her Dad gets the lead in a stage play becomes complicated. Lots of mayhem. Mara is adorable as always.
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Cast & crew

Director: Michael Ritchie

Producer: Sidney Sheinberg, Bill Sheinberg, Jon Sheinberg

Cast: Martin Short, Kathleen Turner, Mara Wilson, Robert Pastorelli, Amanda Plummer, Francis Capra, Ruby Dee, Teri Garr full cast

Duration: 89 mins


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