WISH I WAS HERE

Zach Braff, Kate Hudson, 

Joey King, Jason Gad, 

Mandy Patinkin

"Life is an Occasion.
Rise to It"

Aidan Bloom (Zach Braff) is down on his luck. A struggling actor who can't get past auditions, his only brother Noah (Josh Gad) is a bum, his kids' education in a private school is threatened as Aidan's father Gabe (Mandy Patinkin) is terminally ill with cancer so he can no longer afford to pay for their tuition fees.

So Aidan decides to home school them and in the process he teaches them about life. He re-discovers himself and makes life altering decisions about his career, his family and life itself. His volatile past with his strict father helps him make different choices in his parenting style, he courses an alternative path for his career and his relationship with his estranged father is renewed.  

A good family movie that teaches us that the manner in which we were brought up should not be a deterrent or a hindrance to the way we wish to approach our careers, how to raise our kids and just live life as we envision it for ourselves.  

Plenty of life lessons can be learned from "Wish I was Here" as most of the stars give good performances without being overbearing or preachy in their technique of essaying flawed characters whose personalities mimic our own shortcomings and weaknesses. 

I admit I never watched Zach Braff in "Scrubs" but I find myself drawn to his style of writing and directing movies which have a massive appeal since he caters for ordinary people with supposedly boring yet very ordinary lives.