Wish I Was Here

Wish I Was Here is a comedic drama written and directed by Zach Braff, his second feature film following 2004’s Garden State. The film follows Aiden, a 35 year old actor (played by Braff), struggling to find purpose in his life. His widowed father, who has been paying for Aiden’s kids’ schooling, becomes ill and can no longer support their education. Aiden decides to take the opportunity to home school his kids leading to a whole bunch of self-discovery for everyone involved. The film co-stars Kate Hudson, Pierce Gagnon, Joey King, Mandy Patinkin, Josh Gad, Jim Parsons, and features the final film role from James Avery.

Wish I Was Here was funded thanks to a crowdsourcing effort on the website Kickstarter. It earned $2 million in just two days and would go on to earn over $3 million. Braff took some flack for this decision, mainly because of the assumption that he has Hollywood connections and his own money to make films with. Had he gone that route however, studios would have had all of the creative control; something Braff wasn’t willing to give up. “Wish I Was Here would not have come to fruition without our 46,520 Kickstarter backers. They were amazingly supportive, and continue to be – through post-production, our debut screening at Sundance, and now the theatrical release; we have been in constant contact for over a year now. Coming together, they gave me the opportunity to tell the story with no compromises, and with a great many creative people. What a wonderful way to make a movie.”

Wish I Was Here is rated 14A.

Read our review of the film here.

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