| Wishin' and Hopin' | |
| Director: | Colin Theys |
| Starring: | Wyatt Ralff Molly Ringwald Chevy Chase Annabella Sciorra |
| Music: | Matthew Llewellyn |
| Cinematography: | Catherine Goldschmidt |
| Distributor: | Synthetic Cineyma International |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Wishin' and Hopin is a 2014 American coming of age comedy film starring Wyatt Ralff, Molly Ringwald, Chevy Chase and Annabella Sciorra based on the 2009 novel Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story by Wally Lamb. Filmed in and around Norwich, Connecticut, and Willimantic, CT. film received a limited theatrical release at the Garde Arts Center on November 23, 2014 and premiered on Lifetime on December 6, 2014.[1] [2] [3] [4] It was the final television film appearance of Meat Loaf before his death in January 2022.
Fifth-grader Felix Funicello (Ralff), the cousin of famous Mickey Mouse Club Mousekteer and teen idol/movie actress Annette Funicello, lives in the fictional small town of Three Rivers, Connecticut. In 1964, he and his classmates at St. Aloyius Gonzaga Parochial School have a momentous fall semester after lay substitute teacher Madame Frechette (Ringwald) and Zhenya (Cohen), a new student from Russia, arrive. Madame Frechette implements a new concept for the school's Christmas pageant and competition for key roles ensues. The story is narrated in the present day by Felix as an adult (Chase).