The Wizard – It’s So Bad

The Wizard is a needlessly dark road trip movie about a young boy trying to find closure after the death of his twin sister.

The rest of the movie doesn't seem to understand that because that portion of the plot was written at the last minute, so it plays much more like a kids version of Rain Man, where the older brother exploits his younger, video game master brother for his own financial gain. Literally.

The Wizard, as it juggles it darker elements, also serves as a commercial for Nintendo.

An antagonist sports the Power Glove; it boasts several scenes of the titular boy wonder excelling at arcade games that are actually their Nintendo versions; and it culminates in a video game tournament, where Super Mario Bros. 3 is the championship game.

Sounds like a lot of fun, except The Wizard isn't. And somehow, the lovable (before he was problematic) Fred Savage is just an annoying asshole throughout.

Now, sit back, pick up and put down an Arcade IPA from Knee Deep Brewing Co., and beware of the Power Glove ... It's so bad! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Chumpzilla, Capt. Cash, and Bling Blake are hitching a ride in a Hostess truck to fulfill our dreams of video game glory!

This Week’s Segments:

• Introduction/Plot Breakdown – It's more than a game ... It's the chance of a lifetime! (00:00)
• Lingering Questions – After a word from our brothers in beer at Hop Nation USA, we discuss what games we would excel at in Video Armageddon. (23:44)
• The "I Love the Power Glove" Trivia Challenge – The Double Turn Podcast enters a cheat code to win, and then I challenge the field to trivia about the movie. (40:50)
• Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We begin 2023 with "Hops and Massive 2022 Flops," talking the film that failed to truly change the hierarchy of power in DC, Black Adam! (49:48)

And, as always, hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids—Shout Factory's awesome blu-ray release and more—from this week’s episode!

You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Vurbl, Amazon Music, and more!