Finding Amanda

Though not his best work, (see: Election, and of course the classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off) Matthew Broderick still shined in "Finding Amanda" as a degenerate, somewhat-recovering gambler/drug user/drinker. His counterpart, Brittany Snow – sometime eerily looking like his former counterpart Reese Witherspoon from Election – also did a fairly good job as his prostitute niece. Though not as funny as I thought it would be, Broderick certainly delivers some pretty snappy lines (such as the kitchen knife) and truly shows what goes on for someone truly addicted and trying their best to convince their loved ones they don't have a problem, everything's under control. This is coming from someone who lives near Broderick's character in his lifestyle – minus the drugs and gambling other than horse races, that is – so, though biased, it is more clear to see that stories, lives, end up the same way as this (more tragedy than) comedy does. It's not a family movie, though – they don't just tell you about the prostitute's life, they show you. Absolute recommendation, but a solid four out of five (this scale is doubled, so I selected 8/10) stars as some of the predictable scenes you can see coming from the Mandalay Bay to the Stratosphere. (Side note: I read some reviews as this is the worst of 2008. Though they still might not like this film, I challenge those individuals to see: The Happening, 88 Minutes, Indiana Jones 4, Deal, Funny Games, Jumper, Speed Racer, I could go on…)

You can't not like Matthew Broderick, no matter how despicable his behavior is. One of my favorite American actors ("Election", "You Can Count On Me", etc). He always commits and is always believable. Brittiny Snow is a face you recognize but it's hard to place. She's wonderful and I'll always remember her now. The other actors are used economically and help move the plot, but the focus is certainly on the relationship between Broaderick and Snow. With Las Vegas as the backdrop there's plenty to look at and appreciate. The story is surprising without being too contrived. A quirky, very entertaining film. It's not a big screen release, and because of the content will die a slow death on cable.

This film is about a troubled middle aged man with addiction problems trying to rescue his niece from prostitution in Las Vegas.

Taylor is hopelessly addicted to gambling, hoping one day he will win it big. Amanda earns money by prostitution in Las Vegas, and is successful as she manages to make money to buy a house and a car at the tender age of 20. It is obvious that Taylor and Amanda are characters with things in common. They live in their own fantasy world, thinking that someday it will magically transform into utopia.

Given the subject matter, I find it surprising that "Finding Amanda" is marketed as a comedy. There are funny moments, but it is more a emotional drama about the two waking up from their dreamland. Taylor's addiction is convincingly portrayed by the adorable Matthew Broderick. Amanda is also a likable character, but she is far too happy and fluffy to be a person with a turbulent background. Greg, on the other hand, is convincingly despicable and disgusting.

"Finding Amanda" is slow at times, but it gives viewers ample time to digest what goes on with the characters. It provokes people to look into their lives, and maybe we can find a part of us that is hypocritical like Taylor is. This film is for people who like serious and emotional films, and it will not appeal to romantic comedy fans.

I've been watching movies all week - actually 2 weeks straight now and I've been doing so many reviews I don't know what to write anymore.

It's a watchable film, good performances from all and overall a good script.

To me, it's the little bit players that make up this movie. Not because the leads aren't good - they are good.

But it's the smaller roles on this that make up this movie.

All the story turns fill in nice and the dialog is a little bit harsh, but nothing that a grade 6 hasn't heard before.

I do not recommend it for family viewing though - unless your kids are hookers themselves.

Let me start by saying that this is an excellent film in almost every respect - clever dialogs which underlie a mature understanding of the psycho-dynamics of the characters, brilliant directing and overall very good acting. The main theme of the movie is denial - all characters lie to each other and especially to themselves about almost every respect of their lives. This is a fresh breath of air relatively to all those formula Hollywood movies where all characters only act according to some ridiculous higher ideology. I feel that for the first time in a long while I am actually watching the story of real people. Although the story in the movie comes to a solution, this is by no means a corny Hollywood like solution but actually is able to reveal some new insight into the story - which is always the sign of a great work of art. I am quite sure this movie deserves a larger audience than it got, I am certainly going to follow the next works of the creators of this film. Great job everyone.