Three Wishes

In a quiet 1950s American suburb, Jeanne Holman is doing her best to hold her family together after her husband is presumed dead in the Korean War. When she accidentally strikes a wandering drifter named Jack McCloud (Patrick Swayze) with her car, she insists that he stay with her family while his broken leg heals.

Jack is an odd and gentle soul, traveling with only a shaggy dog, a mysterious notebook, and a calm, unhurried wisdom that tends to clash with the rest of the busy world. With his unique outlook, he becomes a father figure to Jeanne’s two young sons, helping them to approach life with openness and wonder rather than fear.

But there is something mysterious about Jack that the film never quite explains. Perhaps he is something more than an ordinary drifter… perhaps he is truly granting three wishes like a genie in a fairy tale. Regardless of Jack’s true nature, it becomes clear that his time with the family cannot last forever as the summer draws to a close.

Three Wishes is an unusual film that is perhaps best described as a modern fable, touching on themes of hope, acceptance, and finding contentment in the life one has rather than mourning the life one wished for. The story is admittedly open to interpretation, as Jack’s true nature is deliberately left ambiguous, but his perspectives and wisdom may still offer some thoughtful reflection.* The film is rated PG, though its more melancholy moments and some mild thematic complexity make it better suited for older children.

(* The film’s sense of the spiritual is admittedly more mystical than specifically Christian in flavor, drawing more on Eastern philosophy. That said, the film’s heart, rooted in hope, remains easy to appreciate from a faith perspective.)

Runtime: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Rated PG
ISCCB rating: A-II
IMDb Parents Guide
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