Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Finders Keepers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf December 23, 2016

Director Richard Lester has a sense of humor, and he’s determined to share it with the world. The helmer of “A Hard Day’s Night,” “The Three Musketeers,” and “Robin and Marian,” Lester rode waves of box office glory and failure throughout his career, but he reached a particularly questionable time of personal success when he was asked to take over production duties on “Superman II,” working to change original director Richard Donner’s regality into camp, transforming such suggestion into hard evidence with his questionable handling of “Superman III,” which merged the fantasy of comic heroism and the comic timing of an Old Hollywood two-reeler. Perhaps intending to reset his creative vision after dealing in blockbusters for years, Lester masterminds “Finders Keepers,” a 1984 production that plays like a farce, but actually has literary roots, adapted from a novel by Charles Dennis (who co-scripts). Lester has always been an acquired taste, and those tuned into his particular way with funny business might respond favorably to “Finders Keepers.” However, like everything he does, a little of Lester’s cheekiness goes a long way, tiring out this train ride of mishaps and mistaken identities before it leaves the station.

A low-level con man raised by Century (Louis Gossett Jr.), a practiced thief, Michael (Michael O’Keefe) has botched his latest scam managing a roller derby club, with angry ladies on wheels looking for revenge when they learn they’ve been had. On the run, Michael takes time to seduce the wife of the local police chief (John Schuck), sinking him deeper in trouble, forcing him to buy an army captain costume and escape on the train, hastily attaching himself to a loaded coffin to ward off law enforcement interest. However, the casket doesn’t have a body inside of it. It’s filled with five million dollars recently stolen by Josef (Ed Lauter) and Georgiana (Pamela Stephenson), who feverishly try to maintain connection to the box, watching Michael’s scam spotlighting the illegal cargo. Working to cover his tracks, Michael invents a new identity to protect himself on the train ride, soon pulled into Standish’s (Beverly D’Angelo) orbit when the high-maintenance traveler takes a shine to a man in uniform with a sad story about his fallen soldier friend. As cops, cons, and Standish begin to understand what Michael is up to, Century returns to view, working himself into the increasingly elaborate scam.

To Lester’s credit, “Finders Keepers” is a silly movie that doesn’t slow down to take itself seriously. The plot presented here is more of a maze, using a multitude of last names and motivations to tilt the entire tale, finding Michael in the midst of complete confusion, with only his con man training to help him slip in and out of jams. The lack of dramatic urgency is refreshing, especially when it becomes clear in the second half of the picture that Lester isn’t going to be concerned with grounding the farce in any type of emotional resonance. It’s a big goof, and one that gives the helmer a chance to practice his skills of timing and set piece construction, challenged somewhat by the train setting of “Finders Keepers,” which primarily remains in passenger and cargo cars and narrow hallways, which is meant to accentuate Michael’s pressure as a man trying to go unnoticed when everyone is tightly pushed together as travel commences.

Characterizations are big in “Finders Keepers,” with actors like D’Angelo and Lauter working to match the tone of the movie with broad comedic turns. O’Keefe isn’t quite up to the challenge, weirdly playing small and simple, trying to be the straight man in a picture that doesn’t require the foundation. He’s miscast, but most of the performers are, with Lester paying more attention to the mechanics of a joke than the natural vibrancy of one. “Finders Keepers” isn’t particularly amusing, but at least it moves, rocking along with songs from The Beach Boys and Supertramp (which effectively destroys the Vietnam War mood of the endeavor), and enjoying the perpetual movement of the train setting, which encourages pace and gives the material a countrywide feel, opening up the simplicity of the scam and its knotted deconstruction.

For those who enjoy little surprises, Jim Carrey pops up late in the movie, portraying the draft-dodging soldier Michael tries to pass off as the body in the casket, playing dumb against Brian Dennehy, who portrays the dim-wit’s exasperated father, delivering an impressively frustrated turn.

Finders Keepers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers a fairly average look at the madcap antics of "Finders Keepers." This certainly isn't a fresh scan of the 1984 feature, with elements of age apparent, including mild filtering and slight fatigue to the viewing experience. Colors aren't remarkable, handling primaries without vibrancy, but hues aren't completely muted, better with bolder set decoration and Canadian greenery, while costuming has its highlights. Detail is available but lacks snap, coming through with train interiors and close-ups, while overall sharpness isn't as refreshed as it could be. Delineation is acceptable, but this is a brightly shot movie. Source isn't problematic, with only a few scattered incidents of speckling.

Finders Keepers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix provides a basic listening event for "Finders Keepers," which is a film that prizes performances the most. Dialogue exchanges are preserved adequately, emphasizing timing and idiosyncratic delivery, with comedic choices coming through clearly. Scoring efforts are supportive, building mood when called on, delivering satisfactory instrumentation. Soundtrack selections are more alert, handling with some depth. Atmospherics are pleasant, with train travel consistent and evocative, and crowd scenes are acceptable.

Finders Keepers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this disc.

Finders Keepers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Finders Keepers" keeps on going through incidents and conflicts, but rarely does anything come across as inspired. Lester tries to put together a ripe farce, encouraging speedy timing and outrageous behavior, and the screenplay is generally good about arranging challenges for Michael, testing his skills of deception as he's forced to keeping dreaming up new explanations for nagging questions, working to avoid detection, but always managing to increase it. For Lester fanatics, I can't image this effort is regarded as one of his best, as it seldom reaches the insanity the helmer strives for. Imagine the slapstick prologue from "Superman III" stretched to 90 minutes and set on a train, and that's the "Finders Keepers" viewing experience. It's eager to please, but there's nothing here that inspires surprise or even a single bellylaugh. It's a movie with an appreciation of wacky intent and pure cinematic interests, but it mostly triggers a series of shrugs and a burning need to understand why Lester thought the music of Supertramp would be the proper musical accompaniment to a Vietnam War story.