Finder's Fee (2001)

Finder's Fee

The story starts out with a young man finding a wallet of the street and considering marriage to the lady he loves. He calls the only number he can find in the wallet that is the supposed to be the brother of the owner. But then he finds a lottery ticket in it and hears the numbers for the winning ticket. The ticket in the wallet. So what would you do if you found a wallet on the street and it had a lottery ticket worth six million dollars in it? Then his three friends join him for an evening of poker. When a man, played by James Earl Jones, rings the bell and says he is the owner of the wallet, the finder decides to swap the ticket for his losing ticket. The wallet recoverer is invited to play cards by his friends and the the police arrive searching the building and forbiding anyone to leave.

The young man starts to panic wondering if the wallet owner knows he swapped tickets. Finally one of his friends realizes what he has done and takes action against the man that came to recover the wallet. An action that may lead to a life or death result. When a cop arrives at the scene he is given the lottery ticket to make sure the right thing is done. But then at the end we see another ticket given to the man recovering the wallet. The twists and turns in the story make it rather interesting and I enjoyed it. Good quality DVD with decent replayability. If you enjoyed this be sure to catch "Millions (2005)" and "It Could Happen to You (1994)". - C. Luster July 21, 2008

A very poor effort by a novice movie maker....

It's amazing that this much acting talent could be shoe-horned into such a bad movie. I don't see how it could have yielded six 5-star reviews (The Godfather it ain't).

Using its better scenes, you could put together a trailer for this movie that would make you want to see it. And you may be entertained through much of the movie. But when the story becomes quite nonsensical in the final minutes of the movie, you will feal cheated and wish that you had watched something else. At least that's how everyone in my family felt when we watched it. May 25, 2006

Wonderful Film by Jeff Probst

Wonderul film by first time director Jeff Probst. Matthew Lillard shines again, and Ryan Reynolds is funny and effective as well. It really is a fun popcorn film on a Friday or Saturday night. March 5, 2006

!!-->THE<--!! best film you've never seen

Not a single bad comment for this movie other than it's rediculous it was never released in theaters. Erik Palladino (ER,U-571,Dead and Breakfast), Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, Amittyville Horror, Waiting) in his best performance to date in my opinion, Matthew Lillard (Scream, SLC Punk, Wing Commander) and Dash Mihok (The Day After Tomorrow) are perfect in their parts as 4 friends who play for lottery tickets in their weekly (or whatever) poker game. Of all the big hollywood movies previously mentioned, I would say all of these actors put their best foot forward on this one. Writer/Director Jeff Probst (of Survivor fame) seemingly has a knack for perfectly written thrillers. Don't expect alot of cursing (there is a little), and certainly dont expect alot of action or violence...and even without these elements, Finder's Fee grabs your interest and won't let go until the unexpected, shocking finale (which contains the only scene of violence). February 27, 2006

GREAT FILM

FINDER'S FEE
ABSOULUT CLASSIC

What can I say about this instant classic besides dawm what a debut. JEFF PROBST of survivor fame debuts with this incredibly engaging film. Written and directed by the rising star, this film leaves u wishing he would come with another film soon. His directing decisions show threw out as he crafts one of the best films I have ever seen. I can't believe this film didn't blow up, but at least he won best up and coming director for this film or was it best new director.
The story follows Tepper {Erik Palladino} as he is preparing to propose to his girl, and on his way home he finds a lost wallet and calls a number inside looking for the owner. He soon finds out that the lottery ticket inside is the winning ticket, and decides to keep it. Soon following this his friends drop in to get started on playing cards, and that's when the real entertainment begins. Has all three arrive to play the owner shows up, James Earl Jones. As he gives the wallet back the police storm the building and put it on lock down. So the stakes rise and friendships get tested as the lottery tickets are up for grabs in the game including the winning ticket. The best part happens when Mr. Jones is attacked by one of them because he figured out what was going on with the ticket.
The thing that makes this film so great is the acting, each actor brings their character to life with their performances. The best performances come from Ryan Reynolds, Matthew Lillard, and Dash Mihok. Reynolds in his quiet shy role surprises the film the most with his violent out burst in the end showing that his depression goes beyond just taking Fishmans abuse. Speaking of Fishman, this role is played brilliantly by Lillard. It is great to see him in this role demanding respect, as he is a small skinny dude bossing the others around. Of course one of the best ones is played by Mihok in his role as a guy who needs to give advice, and desperately wants kids. Each one of these characters each have problems and need the 6 million, so the game is on.
Also get the dvd if u are interested in becoming a filmmaker, because the commentary gives one of the best incites into the business I have ever heard.
So in completion I really really recommend this film to everybody.
November 17, 2005

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