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Movies / On DVD / Finding Forrester
Finding Forrester

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Finding Forrester (2000)

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Reviews Counted:121

Fresh:89

Rotten:32

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: Despite the predictability of its plot and its similarity to Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester has an honest, solid feel to it and good rapport between Connery and Brown.

Runtime: 2 hrs 16 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Director Gus Van Sant brings to the screen this moving story of a grizzled recluse and an inner-city teenager brought together by their shared passion for writing. Like Van Sant's Oscar-nominated... Director Gus Van Sant brings to the screen this moving story of a grizzled recluse and an inner-city teenager brought together by their shared passion for writing. Like Van Sant's Oscar-nominated GOOD WILL HUNTING, FINDING FORRESTER earnestly explores the struggles of a youthful genius whose position in society (underprivileged kid from the wrong side of the tracks) makes him seem destined for failure until he forms a relationship with a gifted but introverted mentor who helps him see the light.The youthful genius is a talented urban basketball player named Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), who in his spare time reads everything he can get his hands on, secretly scribbling prose and poetry into a composition pad. The introverted mentor is William Forrester (Sean Connery), who took the literary world by storm with his debut novel, AVALON RISING, 50 years earlier but now spends whole days shut inside his Bronx apartment looking out the window onto a basketball court where Jamal hangs out. Buoyed by excellent performances from Connery and newcomer Brown, FINDING FORRESTER paints a compelling, alluring portrait of friendship while offering intriguing insights into the heart and soul of the dedicated writer. [More]

Starring: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, Anna Paquin, F. Murray Abraham

Starring: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, Anna Paquin, F. Murray Abraham, Busta Rhymes, Michael Nouri, Tom Mullica, Lil' Zane

Director: Gus Van Sant

Director: Gus Van Sant
Screenwriter: Mike Rich
Producer: Laurence Mark, Sean Connery, Rhonda Tollefson
Studio: Columbia Pictures

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Reviews for Finding Forrester

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
03/30/01
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

plays...in broad stokes that are not meant to challenge, but rather to reassure that, despite all its troubles, all will be right in the world eventually

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

There's plenty here that feels real and true.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
02/07/01
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY

Screenwriter Rich makes the unlikely pairing of a black kid from the Bronx and a curmudgeonly Scot -- linked only by their love of language -- more believable and endearing as the movie goes on.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/07/01
Kevin Lally
Kevin Lally
Film Journal International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
02/07/01
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/07/01
Scott A. Mantz
Scott A. Mantz
Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews

It seems that this script was put through the ‘Hollywood wringer’ far too many times – squeezing out any real sense that it might be something different.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
02/07/01
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

To dismiss Finding Forrester as just a rehash of Good Will Hunting is not entirely fair.

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
02/07/01
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
02/07/01
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
ToxicUniverse.com

If "Good Will Hunting" and "Scent of a Woman" were to meet some moonlit night, consummate and make a child, "Finding Forester" would be their adolescent son.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
02/07/01
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

Funny and touching.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
02/06/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

Despite being unoriginal, the movie is polished and intelligent, and there's no denying it pleases the crowds.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
01/12/01
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Plays out like a pretty involving novel.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/12/01
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Though it is every bit as polished and powerful as Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester suffers because of the obvious comparisons in subject matter and approach.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/12/01
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Jam! Movies

A rare find.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
01/12/01
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
CNN.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Don't miss this film.

Full Review Source: Talking Pictures (U.S.) | comment Comment
01/11/01
Tony Toscano
Tony Toscano
Talking Pictures (U.S.)

A good-looking fraud.

Full Review Source: Ottawa Citizen | comment Comment
01/11/01
Jay Stone
Jay Stone
Ottawa Citizen

A well-made story that has echoes of just about every inspirational education movie you've ever seen.

comment Comment
01/11/01
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

A rewarding exploration of the knotty and often contentious relationship between teacher and protege. Its chief pleasure is the master class in the art of acting delivered by Sean Connery.

comment Comment
01/11/01
Desmond Ryan
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer

This is pure formula -- and practically identical to the story arc of Good Will Hunting -- but Van Sant keeps things just off-kilter enough to make it compelling anyway.

comment Comment
01/11/01
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Latest News for Finding Forrester

March 16, 2007: The Weekly Ketchup: "Spider-Man" Sans Tobey Maguire(?), "Transformers," "Superman Returns" Sequel, And More!
In this week's Ketchup, producer Avi Arad talks "Spider-Man"'s future, with or without Tobey Maguire, Shia LaBeouf explains how "Transformers" avoided an R... More...

March 17, 2006: New Line's "Nativity" Nabs Whale Rider
New Line Cinema is venturing into Biblical territory with "Nativity," a baby Jesus prequel, to star "Whale Rider" ingenue Keisha Castle-Hughes. More...

November 11, 2005: Sean Connery Earns AFI's Highest Honor
Thanks to ComingSoon.net for sharing a press release from the American Film Institute: Sir Sean Connery has been selected by the American Film Institute's (AFI) Board of... More...

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