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Finding Amanda
Metascore
51 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 17
  3. Negative: 1 out of 17
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  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    75
    This dark comedy of addiction, delusion and humor as a weapon marks the feature directing debut of veteran writer Peter Tolan.
  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    70
    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.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    70
    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.
  4. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    67
    It's amusing but facile, reasonably clever but hopelessly glib.
  5. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    63
    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.
  6. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    63
    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.
  7. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    63
    Finding Amanda isn't bad, and there is some smart, jagged humor.
  8. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    63
    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.
  9. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    50
    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.
  10. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    50
    Finding Amanda is a minor movie for Broderick, but considering where it takes him, it's understandable why he took the role.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    50
    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.
  12. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    50
    A slight, modestly funny comedy.
  13. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    50
    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.
  14. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Richard James Havis
    40
    Even the easygoing Broderick can't inject any lift or charm into the story.
  15. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    40
    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.
  16. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    40
    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.
  17. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    12
    Finding Amanda, unfortunately, is one vast, irritating surface.
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