Finding Forrester (2000)

An afro-american teen writing prodigy finds a mentor in a reclusive author.

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writer:

Mike Rich

Stars:

Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham

4 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	William Forrester
Rob Brown	...	Jamal Wallace
F. Murray Abraham	...	Prof. Robert Crawford
Anna Paquin	...	Claire Spence
Busta Rhymes	...	Terrell Wallace
April Grace	...	Ms. Joyce
Michael Pitt	...	John Coleridge
Michael Nouri	...	Dr. Spence
Richard Easton	...	Prof. Matthews
Glenn Fitzgerald	...	Massie, Forrester's Delivery Man
Lil' Zane	...	Damon (as Zane Copeland Jr.)
Stephanie Berry	...	Janice Wallace
Fly Williams III	...	Fly
Damany Mathis	...	Kenzo
Damion Lee	...	Clay

Storyline

Because of scoring exceptionaly high on a state wide standardized exam and being an exceptionally good basketball player Jamal Wallace is sent to a prestigious prep school in Manhattan. He soon befriends the reclusive writer, William Forrester. The friendship leads to William to overcome his reclusivness and for Jamal to overcome the racial prejudices and pursue his true dream - writing.

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Plot Keywords:

school | writing | basketball | inner city | recluse | 

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Taglines:

In an ordinary place, he found the one person to make his life extraordinary.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 January 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Descubriendo a Forrester

Filming Locations:

Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$43,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£381,822 (UK) (23 February 2001)

Gross:

ESP 283,653,614 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Finding Forrester Productions, Fountainbridge Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The famous line from the film, "You're the man now, Dog!", served as the inspiration for the popular internet site YTMND.

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Goofs

The bird William Forrester videotapes and identifies as a Connecticut Warbler is actually a Yellow Warbler.

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Quotes

Forrester: In some cultures it's good luck to be wearing something inside-out.
Jamal: And you believe that?
Forrester: No, but it's like praying: what do you risk?

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Crazy Credits

During the Columbia logo presentation, Bill Frisell's guitar playing the Columbia accompanying music is heard, rather than the usual orchestral version.

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Connections

Features Jeopardy! (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World"
'Over The Rainbow' written by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen
'What A Wonderful World' written by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele
Performed by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

User Reviews

Derivative but enjoyable that is made much better by the two strong performances

Jamal Wallace is a black highschool student living in the Bronx, New York. He has a talent for basketball, which is popular with his friends and a talent for writing that he tends not to talk up. His test scores bring him to the attention of an exclusive private school with offers of a scholarship, starting immediately. Meanwhile he gives in to his friend's challenges and breaks into the flat of a man known as "the window" because he never leaves his flat but just stares out at the world passing outside. When he is confronted by the man, Wallace flees but forgets his bag, but it is given back later, with all his note book scribbled on and critiqued. He goes back to the flat and tries to get the man to help him further with his writing.

Has it been so many years since Good Will Hunting that Van Sant felt the need to remake it with elements changed? And if so did he feel so insecure about doing it that he delivered with such little originality and blandness so that the audience knows just what they are getting and feels comfortable (if unimpressed)? I guess the answers to both those questions is yes because Finding Forrester is very much a version of Good Will Hunting with the basics kept the same and other bits changed around. Of course this does not mean that it is a bad film because I actually quite enjoyed it; although I knew just where it was going and what it was doing from start to finish. In this way it is a bit annoying that director and writer should be so uninterested in doing anything other than trudging out such obvious material.

The story, although familiar is well enough told though to make it worth seeing. What made it much better for me though were the two genuinely engaging performances in the lead. Given fairly obvious characters to work with, I felt that both Brown and Connery took it, worked it and made it more than the sum of the words in the script. Brown is impressive by how much seems to be going on behind his eyes and I was more impressed when I learnt that this was his acting debut. Connery is equally as good in a role that he could have slummed off his famous voice and natural presence; but instead he works with a vulnerability that is convincing and makes his character and the story so much more interesting. Neither of them can make this a wonderful film but they both do a lot of work to make it an enjoyable and engaging one. Support from Abraham is by-the-numbers but effective (although his final scene is unconvincing); I didn't understand why Paquin bothered (or why they bothered to have her character in the story) while Rhymes is just what you expect and only looks weak at the end when he is asked to emote.

Overall this is a solid and enjoyable film despite the fact that it seems determined to do just what you expect it to do. That said the story is still interesting but what really does the business are the two great performances from Brown and Connery – both as individuals but also together; they take the obvious material and make it somehow much more convincing and engaging. Not a great film by any stretch of the imaginative and too derivative to really stick in the mind but does enough to entertain.