‘Well Wishes’ Makes Me Wish We Could All Be Like Miles

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one sheetMiles loses his job thanks to a coin toss. If that isn’t enough, his rather unpleasant girlfriend decides to take everything they own and leave him in the middle of the night. After trying to find a new job in a down economy, Miles has a brilliant idea; he can clean wishing fountains in his town and collect the coins. While he first checks to make sure it is legal, he soon recruits his best friend Jack and a very business-minded vagrant named Durwood.  Durwood and Jack make the business profitable back home, while Miles strikes out on the road to visit the rest of the fountains in North Carolina. Along the way, he meets the mysterious Penelope. They strike up a friendship, that leads to employment and romance. However, Penelope is in some serious trouble and it isn’t long before Miles discovers her secrets. With shifting priorities, Miles must maintain his friendships, keep his business going, and try to rescue his romance.

Shane Callahan in Well Wishes

Miles makes ends meet before his big idea

Well Wishes is that adorable kind of feel-good movie that makes you wish it wasn’t just a VOD release. Anderson Boyd’s script is sweet, quirky, and frankly worth more than a fair few recent big feature films. While some of the film is a touch unbelievable and more than a bit predictable, Shane Callahan’s portrayal of Miles is utterly lovable. His cheerful attitude is infectious, despite the face that Miles is a fictional character. Cullen Moss plays Jack with just enough slime and charm to be believable as a successful businessman, and Don Henderson Baker gives the wise gravitas of a vagrant that is not what he seems. Though she does not get as much screen time as I would have liked, Anna Stromberg shines as Penelope. She is not a traditional Hollywood type, and that is one of her strengths. Her performance is believable and smart. The lengths Penelope will go for her ill mother are surprising and her tears feel real. It’s the employees that Jack and Durwood bring on that are a laugh a minute. The very intense Eastern European man is my absolute favorite and he will have you rolling with laughter every time you see his coin case attached to his arm.

Well Wishes is a film that I will likely watch again and share with others. In a recent flux of movies focusing on the doom and gloom of our current world, it’s nice to see an independent film that doesn’t try to be too aloof or focus on the evil in others. If we all took a moment to be more like Miles or Durwood, the world would be a much better place.

Well Wishes is available on VOD May 10, 2016. It can be found on iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu.

Well Wishes – Official Trailer from Anderson Drew Boyd on Vimeo.

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