Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 28, 1995 TAG: 9510310014
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That, at least, is what the film eventually becomes. Writer Elizabeth Anderson and director Martha Coolidge spend the first 40 minutes or so clearing their throats. Swayze's virtually silent scenes may be enough to engage his fans, but those expecting a stronger story will probably become impatient.
A contemporary framing scene sets the stage for a story of 1950s suburbia. Jeanne (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) is trying to raise her sons Tom (Joseph Mazzello) and Gunny (Seth Mumy) alone. Dad is missing and presumed dead in Korea. When Jeanne hits Jack (Swayze) with the family car, the authorities are eager to look the other way.
He's an unshaven bum with a scruffy dog (Rosa, a great scruffy dog). They want to slap a cast on his broken leg and hustle him out of town. But Jeanne says no. The least she can do is give him a place to stay until he's healed. Phil (David Marshall Grant), an old boyfriend who's still interested in her, thinks it's a bad idea.
Despite Jack's eccentricities, he stays and becomes a reluctant father-figure who takes a Zen approach to Little League baseball. That's a relatively minor part of the unfocused story. It also deals with a child's serious illness, and when the subject turns to all the male-bonding stuff, the filmmakers are at an obvious loss. Toward the end, everything becomes far too preachy.
The key is Patrick Swayze, and this is the kind of role that fits him comfortably. His supernatural powers - if any - are kept deliberately vague, and special effects are employed with restraint.
Clearly, a film titled ``Three Wishes'' isn't going to rely on logic and intellect. It's about unapologetic emotion, and in any movie, a little of that is more than enough.
Three Wishes **
A Savoy Pictures release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 110 min. Rated PG for language, mild violence.
by CNB