What You Wish For
Nick Stahl admirably anchors this culinary chiller of a thriller.
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I didn’t know much about “What You Wish For” (available in select theaters and on VOD beginning Friday, May 31) prior to seeing it and I’d recommend y’all do the same. As such, this review will be a bit vague.
Nick Stahl stars as Ryan, a Dallas chef with debilitating gambling debts. Hoping to avoid the unsavory sorts looking to collect, Ryan takes off to an unnamed Latin American country (the picture was filmed in Colombia) where he’ll stay with his old culinary school pal Jack (Brian Groh). Jack’s been far more successful than Ryan travelling the world cooking for the rich and elite, who house him in their cushy digs. The latest crib is no exception sporting an infinity pool and exceptionally beautiful surrounding scenery.
An unfortunate circumstance puts Jack out of commission, but he’s still on the hook to cook an extraordinary meal for his bosses Imogene (Tamsin Topolski) and Maurice (Juan Carlos Messier) and their upscale clientele. Looking to kill a few birds with one stone, Ryan assumes Jack’s identity – he can make enough money to alleviate his gambling debt, properly flex his culinary muscles and possibly carve out a new career for himself.
Turns out Jack’s bosses have darker intentions, which draws police attention in the form of Det. Ruiz (Randy Vasquez) and Officer Gallo (Ariel Serra). As the stakes (or is that steaks?) escalate will Ryan be able to cook, plate and escape his fate?
“What You Wish For” is writer/editor/director Nicholas Tomnay’s sophomore feature effort coming a whopping 13 years after his debut – the David Hyde Pierce-starring psychological thriller “The Perfect Host.” If you liked that film it’s likely you’ll like this one too as it’s an improvement over its predecessor. It has interesting things to say about the haves and the have-nots and often recalls a pair of horror comedies from 2022 – these being “Fresh” and “The Menu.”
Stahl anchors the film capably and is the best reason to check it out. I’m a longtime fan of the former child actor (he co-starred alongside Mel Gibson in Gibson’s affecting directorial debut “The Man Without a Face”) who did a bunch of cool and interesting work in his 20s (he died real good in “Bully” and “In the Bedroom”) prior to falling on hard times in his 30s (up to and including a stint where he went missing on Los Angeles’ Skid Row). Thankfully, he’s been clean for a while and has been doing interesting work in genre-skewing indies such as “Hunter Hunter” (my review here) and “What Josiah Saw” (my review here) the past few years. Stahl and Ryan are a good marriage of actor and character. You believe Ryan’s seen and done some shit because Stahl’s seen and done some shit. Stahl’s skillful enough as an actor that you’ll always root for and sympathize with Ryan despite the fact that the character’s a complete and utter fuck-up.
“What You Wish For” doesn’t rewrite the menu, but comes complete with chills and thrills that won’t leave you running for the hills … even if you’ll want our protagonist to do so.