Wisdom
Wisdom
R | 31 December 1986 (USA)
Wisdom Trailers

Unable to find work after a past felony, graduate John Wisdom and his girlfriend embark on a cross-country bank-robbing spree in order to aid American farmers.

Reviews
Don Alex

The comments above have brought out many of the glaring flaws in this bizarre vanity piece from the 80s. Here's another one: how is it that he cant get a job because he's a "felon" (not even flipping burgers), but he can buy an Uzi right over the counter without a waiting period or a background check? Wouldn't his status as a "felon" show up when the gun shop owner checked his record? Or didn't they do that in 1985? The first scene in the flower shop with Emilio and Demi is a prime example of the pathetically juvenile nature of the dialogue, it sounds like this was something Emilio first dreamed up in junior high school (which he probably did), trying to write a script for an "outlaw" film that would also please his ultra-liberal dad. The mild sexual talk is immature and inexplicable. Demi: "You cant even get it up if there's a cool breeze going thru my bedroom". Huh?? And they call each other "babe" like two self-conscious 15 year olds pretending to be an adult couple. It's no wonder they broke up not longer after this film and moved on to other partners, after they grew up.

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Joseph P. Ulibas

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.

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Pepper Anne

'Wisdom' is the rather mediocre directorial debut of actor Emilio Esteves who plays the outlaw twenty-three year old turned hero, Johnny Wisdom. Wisdom is a young kid with problems finding stable employment because he was convicted of a felony as a teenager. So, he figures that the only option he has left is to become a criminal. Only, he's not really sure what kind of criminal, so in the process of shopping for a cause, he decides to become a criminal "for the people, rather than against them." He comes to this conclusion after watching television and seeing--in those wonderful Reagan Years--numerous working people losing their jobs and the banks coming in to foreclose, especially the farmers. Wisdom becomes a hero to the people because, instead of robbing banks, the fugitive crosses the country with his girlfriend/accomplice (Demi Moore) destroying all of the mortgage records in the banks (you'd think that after the dangerous duo became highly publicized, the banks would've taken precaution and moved their records out of the bank). The people love him, but it won't last long, with a detective close on his trail. You should know how a movie like this ends if you've seen 'Falling Down,' 'Miles From Home,' 'Bonnie and Clyde' (though, they weren't really criminals for the people), or 'The Legend of Billie Jean' (though the hero in Billie Jean doesn't meet the same fate as Wisdom).The movie labors on terribly for the first half hour, trying to make hero into some sort of confused kid. Although, he looks less like a decided avenger for the people and more like a kid who isn't too sure what he is getting himself into, or that he has the ability to deal with the consequences. I don't know that Esteves made an effective 'Wisdom' this point because while he had that sort of innocent good guy appeal, he never really looked like the kind of guy tough enough to carry out the "mission." And, as another viewer wrote, he was just too young looking for the part and the "adventure" plays out at many points like a teenage fantasy, especially when he and his girlfriend get their pictures in the paper. He seems like less and less of a hero as the movie progresses and more like just a naive kid (his girlfriend, too).And, while there are many moments of comedic dialog, overall the dialog is quite cheesy, sprinkled with inappropriately timed confessions of 'I love you' from the girlfriend, or pretty much most of the dialog at the end. Esteves wrote a script that was peppered with a bit too much cheesiness (this was not his writing debut, since he wrote the screenplay to 'That Was Then, This is Now').The only real bonus to the movie is the climactic car chase in which several cop cars get rudely drilled. I'll have to agree with the other viewer who wrote that, it is all downhill from here. You should know how it is going to end up anyways, by that point.

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miko4444

A wonderful movie if you ever lived in Sacramento in the downtown or Land Park area. Most of the movie was filmed there, and you'll get a real kick out of seeing the town in a movie. A common experience for those who live in L.A., New York, and San Francisco, but not for us residents of the Big Tomato.And the music is fun.

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