Fred Savage leads his young half-brother, an 8-bit savant who's disengaged from the world, on a road trip to Los Angeles for an all-star video game competition. It's basically _Rain Man_ meets _Tommy_, with a heaping helping of Nintendo product placement and a sparkling, hand-held promotional tour of Universal Studios. While their family (and a selfish private eye) give chase, the kids coast along on money earned from illicit arcade bets and the generosity of strangers, making friends and enemies alike en-route to that big stage in California.

Although the plot does show occasional signs of heart, it's mostly an awkward blend of childish fantasy and out-of-touch adult posing. Savage, his brother and a wily female friend (Jenny Lewis) essentially wish their way out of the tough situations, and most of the gaming scenes are stuck in a decidedly Atari state of mind. High scores all around, even in games that don't actually track points. It's like talking to a forty-something about the latest middle school trends; the more it tries to prove it's hip and fashionable, the further we get from reality.

A handful of ridiculously silly quotes and moments ("I love the Power Glove, it's so bad") are worth revisiting, and I can still remember the thrill I felt at catching my first glimpse of _Super Mario Bros. 3_ on the big screen, but all that amounts to maybe ten minutes of a drawn out hundred-minute runtime. And to think, the original cut stretched for an extra hour.