Engrenage fatal

"Wisdom" is actually nowhere near as bad as its rep would suggest if you take it for what it is: a trashy B-movie which you should watch when you feel like laughing instead of thinking. In its cool pretty boy chic fashions, the movie is just so totally 80s and the various scenes where Estevez beats the cops on his trail, such as the dummy scene, are downright side splitting. I actually liked the "cop out" ending because I thought it was original for a movie of this sort and did not see it coming. Furthermore, this movie, for its low ambitions, has some surprisingly good camera work . My main reason, though, for liking this movie is the beautiful catchy soundtrack by Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo. Now, the bad ? Well, let´s just say that "Wisdom" never quite rises above the level of a lesser "Sledge Hammer" episode.

Wisdom (1986) was a film that was written, directed, produced and starred Emilio Estevez. This movie was produced during the height of Emilio's career. He was also one of the youngest actors tin Hollywood to ever take on such as task. The end results are that of a novice film makers. In the end he bitten off more than he could chew.

The film is about a young wash out who can't do anything right. So he decides to become a sort of a modern day Robin Hood with his girlfriend/co-conspirator Demi Moore by his side. The young lovers hit the road and decide to make history.

Overall, it's an uneven production. The actors seemed to be unmotivated and the written is pretty run-of-the-mill. A good concept that's executed by mediocre hands. Estevez should have started out small before taking on such a big project. One the other hand I have to give him a big hand for pulling this one off.

Recommended for Emilio Estevez fans.

Factoids: Part of the movie was filmed in my hometown of Sacramento. I remembered all of the hub bub it created ten years ago. Charlie Sheen has a cameo as his "former" supervisor.

I had the pleasure of being Demi Moore's stand-in and photo double for this film, after auditioning against 325 other young actresses for the "role." Normally, you don't have to audition for that crew job, but since this film was Emilio's directorial debut, he wanted to be able to look through the camera lens to "see" what he and Demi would (more or less) look like. The job of the photo double and stand-in is to do all of the takes where you can't really see the stars' faces (drivebys, long distance shots, etc. - yes, I was the one he had slung over his shoulder running in the school parking lot after Karen was shot), as well as to sit in for lighting and sound checks. It was, to put it the most succinctly, like running away and joining the circus!

Notwithstanding some of the legitimate criticisms of the film in other reviews, from a personal standpoint I have to say that Emilio was a total gentleman, and was especially respectful to all of the crew. He thanked the actors after every take and at the end of the day, and he never went into his trailer for meals - he always sat with the crew. The very first day on set, he asked if I had my SAG card, and when I told him I only had my AFTRA card, he wrote in a line for me so that I was eligible to join SAG (they ended up using the shot in the trailer). Emilio didn't have to do that, but it was the kind of thoughtful gesture that he showed others on a regular basis.

Emilio was also well aware of the trust placed in him, being such a young man with a considerable film budget, and he was surrounded by many Hollywood veterans who were equally patient and understanding (Robert Wise, Bernie Williams, to name a few).

While this may not be a true "review" of the film, I thought those of you who had written here might enjoy knowing some of the "behind the scenes" thoughts from someone who was there for the whole shoot. Personally, I enjoyed every moment of the experience, I learned a lot, and I will always be grateful to Emilio for his generosity of spirit and kindness. He was a class act, every step of the way.

"Wisdom" is one of those strange films that is never sure what it wants to be. Young Emilio Estevez comes to the realization that he will never be a success so he decides to become a criminal, a criminal for the people. He aids farmers by destroying records in small-town banks, becoming a sort of Robin Hood figure. His girlfriend Demi Moore is also along for the ride. Obsessed detective William Allen Young will stop at nothing to bring the youths to justice, while the general public is indifferent until Moore has to shoot a police officer. Now the stakes get higher and everything will soon come to a head. Estevez shows his lack of writing and directing experience here. He has some good ideas, but never does execute them in effective ways. The fact that he is not much of an actor does not help either. Everyone else struggles with the direction and screenplay as well. All in all "Wisdom" is not terrible, but its ending basically takes away from the few good things about the film's first 105-minutes. 2 stars out of 5.

The critics love dubbing this "Wis-dumb", but I've never understood the harshness. Sure, this film isn't amazing, kind of in one ear out the other entertainment, but in my opinion undeserving of the worst of all time list. I can honestly say "Wisdom" spoke to me, especially in my late teens and early twenties and I think a lot of guys that age may feel the same. You always reach that point after high school of what to do now, or trying to find a job that you love. Estevez character faces those couple of things plus the fact that he has a felony attached to his name after a night of mistakes a few years earlier. Deciding that there isn't much for him out there in life, he's intrigued by a tv report documenting the financial problems farmers are having in the midwest. So he ends up (and this is where it gets tricky when trying to explain the film's plot to people) bombing and burning loan information kept in banks. The odd thing is that he begins this close to home in LA, but then heads east where the cause will have effect. Along for the ride is his loving girlfriend, played by Moore in one of her more sweeter performances. I just feel that Estevez really nailed her character by making her the sympathetic "I'll do anything for you" type. Not to mention that she's gorgeous and gives him plenty of physical love, even while on the lam. She really came off as a semi-dreamgirl. Meanwhile, as they head from town to town, there's a subplot about a determined FBI agent out to get Estevez, nicely played by Young. Some acuse the ending of being a copout, but I'm with others who enjoyed its originality. There's a good amount of drama as to what he will decide to do in that one moment. The film also includes some excellent Danny Elfman music, an actual song at the end along with a sensitive piano score. Overall, this flick is far from Oscar winning material, but it has some interesting ideas and should pass the time either way, as a bad or good two hours.