''Finding Amanda'' is a 2008
comedy drama
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film directed by
Peter Tolan
Peter James Tolan III (born July 5, 1958) is an American television producer, director, and screenwriter.
Early life and career
Tolan was born in Scituate, Massachusetts, where he was a perennial favorite in the high school's dramatic production ...
and starring
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''WarGames'' (1983) as a teen government hacker, and ''Ladyhawke (film), Ladyhawke'' (1985), a medieval fantasy alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. He play ...
and
Brittany Snow
Brittany Anne Snow (born March 9, 1986) is an American actress. She came to prominence for her role in the CBS soap opera ''Guiding Light'' (1998–2001), for which she won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress and was nominated for two o ...
.
The plot revolves around a
television producer
A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...
with a penchant for drinking and
gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
, who is sent to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
to convince his troubled niece to enter
rehabilitation.
It was filmed in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
over a three-month period.
Plot
Working as a television writer for a low-rated sitcom, ''Those McAllisters'', Taylor Peters has developed a few vices, such as drinking, drug abuse and compulsive gambling, which have previously damaged his career to the extent that he takes sessions with an analyst only to prove to his wife Lorraine that he is seeking treatment.
Adding to Taylor's stressful home life is the discovery that their 20-year-old niece Amanda has run away from home to Las Vegas to work as a prostitute. Although he writes a good comic scene for his lead actor
Ed Begley Jr., Taylor still has the need to run off to the track to
play the horses. When his wife discovers it and threatens him with divorce, Taylor agrees to go find Amanda and try to get her into a rehab community in Malibu.
Taylor goes to Las Vegas and locates Amanda and realizes that, even though she is involved in a dangerous profession, she has accumulated wealth and retained a relatively refined attitude about life. During the rescue, Taylor's drinking and drug addiction returns and his relationship with his wife crumbles, but he learns a large lesson about life and bonds with Amanda, entreating her to make some positive choice about her own life.
Cast
Reception
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds a 40% rank based on 43 reviews, with an
average rating of 5.1/10. The site's critic's consensus states: "Despite a charming turn by Matthew Broderick, ''Finding Amanda'' is too flimsily executed to succeed as a
dark comedy
Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
". On
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, ''Finding Amanda'' has a score of 51 out of a 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Ronnie Scheib of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote, "Matthew Broderick regains his cinematic stride as a morosely wise-cracking television producer on the skids, ably abetted by Maura Tierney as his much-put-upon wife and Brittany Snow as his perky prostitute niece".
Mark Olsen of ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' said, "Written with more bite, the premise might hold up, but as executed here by Tolan, is a soft-hearted, haphazard mess".
Olsen added, "The problem comes largely in the conception of the hooker-niece character, Amanda, played by Brittany Snow. Tolan never quite figures out whether she is supposed to be a variation on the
hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold or a genuinely troubled teen. One minute she’s blithely talking of her work as if it’s no big deal (in language unsuitable for a family newspaper), the next the character has taken a turn for
melodrama
A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...
, describing her first
trick as a devastating emotional turning point."
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle (born May 7, 1959) is an American film critic and the author of two books on pre-Code Hollywood. Up to March 2008, he had written more than 1,550 reviews for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' and he has been podcasting them since Sep ...
of ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' wrote that "''Finding Amanda'' has some of the good and a lot of the bad aspects of a first film written and directed by the same person". ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
''s Nick Schager called the film a "clumsy mashup of ''
Leaving Las Vegas
''Leaving Las Vegas'' is a 1995 romantic drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on the 1990 semi-autobiographical novel by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having lost his family ...
'' and ''
Hardcore''", while Cynthia Fuchs of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' mentioned that "Too much of Peter Tolan's movie takes up Taylor's self-absorption as if it's actually interesting".
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' gave a mixed review in which he praised the performances of Broderick and Coogan, but said the character of Amanda felt underwritten.
He opined the film feels like "two
ifferentfilms fighting to occupy the same space", and said if the first storyline, which is about Taylor, his addictions, and casino host Jerry, was more developed than the plot line involving Amanda and her boyfriend, it would have made for a tonally better film.
In a positive review,
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic.
Biography
Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called ''Finding Amanda'' a "viciously funny satire…
hat
A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
offers a vision of confused Americans losing their already shaky bearings in the world's gaudiest honky-tonk".
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, 0889134
2008 comedy-drama films
American independent films
Films with screenplays by Peter Tolan
Films directed by Peter Tolan
American comedy-drama films
Magnolia Pictures films
Midlife crisis films
Films about addiction
American films about gambling
Films about prostitution in the United States
Films set in the Las Vegas Valley
2008 directorial debut films
2008 independent films
2008 films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
English-language comedy-drama films
English-language independent films