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Finding Amanda
Magnolia Pictures


5.0

based on 17 reviews
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MPAA RATING: R for strong sexual content including graphic dialogue, pervasive language, drug content and brief nudity

Starring Matthew Broderick, Brittany Snow, Moira Tierney, and Steve Coogan

From director Peter Tolan, creator of the hit television series Rescue Me, comes Finding Amanda, a hilarious and heartbreaking autobiographical comedy about the compulsions we can’t shake, and the unlikely lengths we’ll go to while trying. Taylor Mendon is a television writer and producer working on a low-rated, little-respected half-hour sitcom. Once destined for bigger and better things, Taylor's compulsive gambling, recreational drug use and drinking all conspired to throw his career off the rails. After kicking the alcohol and drugs, he only has one more hurdle...the horses. His beautiful twenty - year old niece Amanda has her own habit to kick. Living in Las Vegas, working as a "dancer," her family has just discovered she is actually a prostitute, and they suspect hooking for drug money. On their way home from an emergency family meeting, Taylor's wife Lorraine finds recent racing stubs in Taylor's glove compartment. After years of standing by him, she leaves. Taylor comes up with a plan: he'll win back his wife by doing the right thing. He'll go to Las Vegas, find Amanda, and deliver her to a rehabilitation center in Malibu. While he’s at it, he might even catch up with some old friends. But besides that, it’s strictly the business at hand—while he's there, he vows, he won't gamble a single cent, but things don’t turn out quite as he’d planned. (Magnolia Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Peter Tolan
DIRECTED BY:	Peter Tolan
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: September 16, 2008 Theatrical: June 30, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	100 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

This dark comedy of addiction, delusion and humor as a weapon marks the feature directing debut of veteran writer Peter Tolan.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

If the title "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" didn’' already belong to Hunter S. Thompson, it would perfectly fit Peter Tolan's viciously funny satire, Finding Amanda.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

By keeping the tone light, the players human (Steve Coogan has a nice turn as a greasy casino host), and never, ever romanticizing the addict, Finding Amanda comes by its heartbreak honestly.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

It's amusing but facile, reasonably clever but hopelessly glib.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Broderick is splendid as the gambler. He knows, as many addicts do, that the addictive personality is very inward, however much acting out might take place.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Broderick has the film's most clever lines, but Snow is quite funny and is convincing as an innocent lured by the promise of easy money.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Much of Finding Amanda doesn't stand up to close scrutiny, but at its best the still-boyish Broderick suggests his most famous character, Ferris Bueller, going through a midlife crisis.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Finding Amanda isn't bad, and there is some smart, jagged humor.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Offers a steady supply of clever lines but suffers from the patina of self-loathing common to industry lifers and the unfortunate miscasting of straight-arrow Broderick as a depressed, cynical hack.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

A slight, modestly funny comedy.

Variety Ronnie Scheib

Although it avoids overt moralizing or clunky lesson-learning, pic's careful balancing act between tragedy and comedy eventually becomes its sole raison d'etre.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

This debut picture never makes up its mind about what sort of comedy it wants to be. But at least it has one--a mind, that is.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Finding Amanda is a minor movie for Broderick, but considering where it takes him, it's understandable why he took the role.

The Hollywood Reporter Richard James Havis

Even the easygoing Broderick can't inject any lift or charm into the story.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Tolan writes regularly for smart shows like "Rescue Me," but his best instincts deserted him when he set his sights on the big screen for the first time.

Los Angeles Times Mark Olsen

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.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Finding Amanda, unfortunately, is one vast, irritating surface.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
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Finding Amanda Magnolia Pictures

Finding Amanda
Magnolia Pictures