Finding Amanda (2008)

I've only seen the trailer, which I downloaded last night. I was doing research on Brittany Snow, and recognized the poster as an image remembered from my days scouring video shops. For some reason I never got around to this title, despite the attractive girl on the box. I wondered why? An oversight, I thought. Began scouting. Poor choices. Local stuff with weak box image, and foreign stuff with Polish language all over the cover. No fun that way. Okay, is this really gonna be worth it? So downloaded the trailer. And thank you, Tubidy, you saved me a bundle. This is dreary and humdrum and bleak and like one of the other reviewers headlined, "half- hearted" and that is only the trailer. But, believe me, if a trailer looks like a shabby product, it's not gonna be anything else but a shabby product. Looks like some TV movie on a very conservative channel showing something a little bit controversial in subject matter. No doubt there will be some moments of laughter but everything seems down-class with an unimpressive cast.I could be wrong, maybe it's a gem if you see the whole thing. But I wouldn't bet on that. No way. Trailers looking A+ could still lead to ol' dogs, but boring ones indicate surefire losers.The basic idea holds promise, that I concede. But...Back then, in the video shop, I can only gather now something tipped me off. Ten years ago, I just can't remember, but good call! Waste of time, this kind of unpromising, ostensibly paltry effort.

Despite what many have said... the plot was pointless and predictable, the acting was terrible (especially Broderick) and none of it was original or very funny. This film deserves much less of my time than this. I have to have 10 lines of text to submit this, so I will tell you that this is my first comment on IMDb despite looking at the site and reading reviews a few times a week for the past couple of years. I felt strongly enough about how bad this film was that I finally created an account to spread the word.I regret watching the whole thing. Please don't make the same mistake. I hope that I can save at least one person from watching it by posting this comment... my joy will be full if I succeed and I will feel redemption.

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…)

I enjoyed this movie and think that it should find an audience in theaters. This movie is described as a comedy and while it is funny, it is also kind of sad at times. I don't understand the other review that totally trashes it. It's not the greatest movie but certainly above average in most areas. There are some great comedic moments primarily because of Matthew Broderick's expressions, timing and his overall lovable loser persona. Brittany Snow gives a strong performance as well. The supporting cast also gives very good performances. I found some of the more serious moments very touching. The writing is a bit off beat and at times, misplaced, but the actors do a wonderful job trying to compensate for that. There is also great chemistry between Matthew and Brittany, reminded me a lot of Election with Matthew and Reese Witherspoon. Go see it!!!