This unromantic comedy is something less than a sure bet. For some reason, you get the impression that it doesn't live up to the promise of its premise.
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07/04/08
Finding Amanda (2008)
43
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:40
Fresh:17
Rotten:23
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: Despite a charming turn by Matthew Broderick, Finding Amanda is too flimsily executed to succeed as a dark comedy.
Synopsis: 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... [More]
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Brittany Snow, Maura Tierney, Peter Facinelli
Director: Peter Tolan
Reviews for Finding Amanda
Broderick’s sunny spin on the deeply flawed Taylor is interesting but eventually defies belief. In the third act, Finding Amanda loses steam altogether.
06/30/08
Top CriticThis vulgar film, replete with vile language and graphic descriptions of sex acts, degrades our culture. Even George Carlin might find it offensive.
07/03/08
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10/18/08
The familiar premise here has sharp fangs, unsparing wit and a knockout performance by Brittany Snow as the round-heeled 20-year-old.
06/27/08
Finding Amanda has its wispy charms, including a funny scene when the ecstasy Taylor pops begins to kick in, and later when he encounters a pimp with showbiz aspirations.
06/26/08
Top CriticAmanda is a generously funny, sharp-edged comedy with unusual promise, and to watch it grow a conscience when clearly the film needed more generous helpings of acid is one of the year's great mysteries.
06/26/08
Amanda can never find a tone. It opens with a scene-reading (Taylor is a writer on a hacky TV show) that produces yawns, where our lead character is the only one that laughs. It's prophetic.
06/27/08
The film's tone shifts jarringly from superficial broad comedy to something far darker. And the hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold scenario is as old as the profession itself.
06/26/08
Top CriticToo much of Peter Tolan's movie takes up Taylor's self-absorption as if it's actually interesting.
06/27/08
Offers up some zinger lines in the trenches of Sin City but fails to live up to its ingenious concept.
10/18/08
Hopelessly uneven yet admittedly entertaining...
10/06/08
False, forced, familiar and often vulgar, especially in its language and depiction of certain characters.
06/18/08
A fun look at Vegas that imbues the seediness of the setting with a sense of innocence and warmth that might take some by surprise.
06/24/08
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.
06/27/08
By keeping the tone light and 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.
06/26/08
... they should've renamed this one Finding the Right Tone.
05/15/08
A breakthrough for Brittany Snow who shows she can do much more than horrible remakes and teen comedies...
06/20/08
Writer-director Peter Tolan has glibness down pat, but can't quite wring the intended pathos from his characters' desperate lives. He does, however, give Broderick his best part since Election.
06/27/08
Spot-on casting of Brittany Snow in the title role makes the fun movie with a serious turn both entertaining and credible.
06/10/08
Latest News for Finding Amanda
June 30, 2008:
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