Review: Goosebumps "Be Careful What You Wish For"

On a note unrelated to my examination of this episode, the tagline for the original book was “It might come true.” Which isn’t so much a “tagline” as it is a “continuation of the saying that forms the book’s title.”

It’s not relevant one bit, but it bugs me.

Plot/Themes

Randomly finding a witch's amulet on the floor of a middle school gym seems like the sort of convenient plot point a middle schooler might actually come up with for their creative writing assignment... but Clarissa's demeanor definitely hints that it was planted there on purpose.

The original story was more up Stine’s alley with a twist ending that sees Samantha magically turn into a bird when Judith tells her to “fly away” once again. But the ending of the TV adaptation definitely Twilight Zones the heck out of the story, turning it into a tale about a young girl who learns how to roll with the punches life delivers.

Because in the end, things could always be worse. And I guess there’s no better way to exemplify that than by having none of Sam’s wishes work properly. I mean, if Sam had actually become an amazing basketball player, then there’d be no lesson to learn, right? Other than “Wishes are awesome.”

But with none of Sam’s wishes actually improving her life, I guess you could take the pessimistic view and say that life sucks and nothing can make it better, not even magical wishes. But that’s a bit grim. And things did indeed get better for Sam in the end, once she handed over her backfiring wishes to Judith.

Perhaps this is a Faustian tale? Clarissa as the devil herself, offering shortcuts to happiness that prove to be nothing but trouble, leading one to question whether or not the value of something is truly measured by what one did to earn it?

…

Nah, this is just a light bit of fantasy with backfiring wishes, thus teaching the children in the audience that you can’t solve your problems by wishing them away. You have to trick your problems into wishing themselves away. That’s a good life lesson there.

Characters

Samantha Byrd (Melody Johnson)

There’s no real underlying reason why Samantha gets bullied. From what we see, it has nothing to do with her appearance or hobbies or anything. And that’s how it often happens in real life, unfortunately. Showing, for all intents and purposes, a perfectly average girl’s frustrations with being bullied hits a note of realism that I’m sure many people can identify with.

I do like how Sam never intentionally tries to screw over Judith, even with her wishes. The fly thing is just an accident. Sam never wished for Judith to suck at basketball. And she even tries magically-induced, free will-eliminating friendship. But in the end, she handed over her wishes and decided that whatever happens happens. So is Judith to blame for her own demise? Or is the person who gave Judith those wishes, knowing full well that they ironically backfire, to blame?

Judith (Susan Cooke)

There’s no real motivation for her character beyond “I’m stuck up and rude to Samantha,” but that’s just the way it is sometimes. While this would end up creating a flat character if that was the end of it, her personality change ends up creating amusing contrast. I got a kick out of Samantha’s backfiring attempt to make Judith her best friend, since a lot of “bully” stories aimed at kids like to have the protagonist become friends with the bully after discovering they have a bad home life, or some such. So Judith’s stint as Sam’s uber-friend nicely parodied that, even if it was unintentional.

Clarissa (Ellen-Ray Hennessy)

Clarissa was an old lady in the original book, but seems to be a bit younger in this version. And she’s got this whole “raven” thing about her, from her nails to her feathery clothes… and the fluttering sounds… and the fact that her purse was filled with corncobs and eggs… and the implication that she turns into a bird at the end, mirroring Sam’s final transformation in the original book. Which creates a symbolic link between the two characters, which definitely hints that Clarissa planned this whole thing out. Wise, mysterious mentor, and all that.

Cory (Robin Weekes)

Cory is a non-entity. And the actor would go on to play a bit less of a non-entity in “The House of No Return.”

Monster of the Week: N/A

Visuals

Not much in the way of special effects this week, but the cartoon flies in the air are pretty noticeable when watching on an HDTV. To say nothing of the “Mount Rushmore” Photoshop effect that turned Judith into a CG statue.

Barking Dogs: No

Boring Best Friend: Judith certainly ain't boring, but Cory’s basically a non-entity. So, yes. One boring best friend and one horrifyingly-obssessed one.

Child Grabbing: No. But there’s a lot of colliding.

Foliage POV Cam: No.

Mad Scientist: No.

Murder: It really depends on how you interpret Judith’s transformation into a statue. Either her consciousness is terminated (and she’s dead), or her mind is trapped inside a stone prison for all eternity, condemned to be pooped on by birds forever.

Judith doesn't seem to be forthcoming with anything, so we can only speculate.

Red Paint: No.

Werewolves: No.

X-Files Shout Out: No

Final Thoughts

A nicely non-standard episode that foregoes monsters and cheap scares.

Next time, a two-part riff on comic books and superheroes. Man, it’s a darn shame I was terrified of this show as a kid. See you then!