WHAT YOU WISH FOR -- Dinner and a B-Movie Are Served

Review by Joseph Fayed

Nick Stahl and Tamsin Topolski in WHAT YOU WISH FOR, a Magnet release. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

​Director Nicholas Tomnay does not have the most extensive filmography, but his latest feature, What You Wish For, I consider to be the second installment of his "shady rich people host dinner parties" universe. This thriller is like a mash-up of previous films with similar twists and turns. This one does it just right by having just the right amount of suspense to not lean into being utterly ridiculous. 
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Ryan (Nick Stahl) is a chef running away from his past. With a rising number of gambling debts and people out to find him, he finds refuge at a remote villa in Colombia occupied by his old friend Jack. As the two catch up, Jack reveals he is now employed by a prestigious catering company as a private chef. In preparation for his next dinner, Jack goes missing. Ryan, unable to face the consequences of what he has fled from and desperate for money, decides to assume Jack's identity and work this high-profile dinner. But when his new employers arrive at the villa, oblivious to who he really is, things take a dark turn for Ryan, and there are depraved consequences for what he has done. 

Rich people doing evil things with their money just because they can has practically become its own genre these days. Popular approaches in the past have included a level of sarcasm (Triangle of Sadness) or having the main characters experience a moral dilemma that puts their own behavior into perspective (The Menu). This film stands out because there is little compassion to be shown across the table. No one is redeemable, as everyone tries to avoid being caught in the act.

A scene from WHAT YOU WISH FOR, a Magnet release. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

The pacing of the film manages to leave you engaged and never bored. The first act sets up the rest very well by being intentionally vague about what Jack has been up to. The viewer slowly realizes what Ryan has unknowingly signed up for and must go through the motions and neglect his former self in the process of doing so. When the big reveal of what his employers are really there for happens, it is written as part of a casual interaction, and the course of action includes no questions from Ryan. Any moments of panicking, as most people with humanity and less of an income typically would, are few and far between. It helps keep the film more suspenseful because Ryan doesn't feel like he's pulled back to reality yet, as this is supposed to be his new norm. 

Nick Stahl plays Ryan realistically without trying too hard to be realistic. He and the rest of the cast deserve credit for their roles. Imogene and Maurice, along with all of the dinner party guests, are very unsettling and do so without going over the top. Nicholas Tomnay's direction is almost sullen at times, but the tone is consistent throughout. Some of the line reads feel so natural to the actors playing truly despicable people that you think they could really do this for a living. 

What You Wish For is a welcomed addition to the "rich people do awful things" genre of film. This B-movie gets off the ground fast and is quite enthralling. It perfectly captures a concept that seems out of the ordinary but doesn't rely on heavily lampooning the ultra-wealthy. Instead, their actions solely cause any judgment, and there are no innocent bystanders around except for you, the viewer. Terrible people and their enablers make the world a terrible place, but they also make this a not-so-terrible film to watch — very much a catch-22 scenario. 

What You Wish For hits theaters and VOD on May 31.​

Rating: 5/5