Wish I Was Here (2014) on Netflix
Aidan Bloom, a 35-year-old struggling actor in Los Angeles, cannot pay for his children's Jewish day school when his father's cancer returns. His wife suggests homeschooling.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.6/1039,913 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes47%
Trailer
Plot summary
In Los Angeles, Aidan Bloom auditions for acting work while his wife Sarah holds a data entry job. Their two children, Grace and Tucker, attend a Jewish day school, and Aidan's father Gabe covers the tuition because he wanted them enrolled in an Orthodox school. Gabe tells Aidan that his cancer has come back and that he plans to spend what remains of his savings on a stem cell treatment. The tuition money is gone. Rabbi Twersky, the school administrator, will not offer the family aid, so Sarah proposes that Aidan teach the children at home and he takes it on. Aidan's brother Noah seldom leaves his apartment and refuses to visit their father. Aidan daydreams of the futuristic space knight he imagined as a boy.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Wish I Was Here (2014)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Wish I Was Here was criticized for its funding model: over $3 million of its roughly $5 million budget came from crowdfunding, yet backers who were promised bonuses for pledging saw financier Worldview Entertainment stand to earn a financial return.
- The film's box office failure, attributed to negative publicity surrounding its crowdfunding campaign, left Wish I Was Here the only high-profile film, as of 2022, to have used the crowdfunding model.
- Joey King said at the film's New York premiere that she had donated money to its Kickstarter campaign before she was even attached as a cast member.
- The film marked the final film appearances of James Avery, who died on December 31, 2013, and Allan Rich, who died on August 22, 2020.
