Starring Michael (Caddyshack) O'Keefe, Beverly (National Lampoon's Vacation) D'Angelo, and Louis (An Officer And A Gentleman) Gossett (Enemy Mine) Jr., Finders Keepers aims to be an madcap caper comedy in the vein of It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, or at least that's what the Mort Drucker poster art would lead one to believe. However, when your 'Welcome to Oakland' sign is planted in a cityscape which prominently features Toronto's CN Tower in the background, you get what you pay for.

An amiable if low-wattage crime caper, Finders Keepers finds a couple of creeps ripping off an extremely wealthy gentleman, only to lose the loot to a roller derby coaching con-man, only to lose the loot to Gossett Jr. and his 'foul mouthed' protégé, D'Angelo, who literally stops the show (at least these days) with her politically incorrect screed. A crazy train-ride across Canada's wheat fields (nicely subbing for America's wheat fields) somehow culminates in a stunt that would make Buster Keaton proud. It's the best part of a movie that otherwise probably deserves its forgotten status.

As O'Keefe's disenchanted derby team chases him through an active marathon course, body-slamming runners as they go, you think the movie has promise. By the time O'Keefe flees 'Oakland' on a train with a conductor who can't remember President Nixon's name, you realize you're in for a lazy, intimate kind of madcap that only works if you really like the characters. O'Keefe isn't a big enough presence, and when D'Angelo comes in, loudly decrying the f*gs, positive that O'Keefe is one of those f*ggots, it's pretty much over. (Not that her character remains that awful, it just happens that her entrance is a great place to rightfully check out of the movie for good.)

1984's Finders Keepers earned theatrical release through CBS, at a time when they had a briefly active movie division that released 11 films. Films, (according to Wikipedia) which were discards from more serious studios. Looking at the slate, Better Off Dead is the most high-profile, while the rest are mostly unknown, and so understandably fine company for Finders Keepers. This low wattage crime comedy reaches nicely madcap heights once towards the end. Otherwise, it's an unimpressive time-waster with characters either unlikeable or forgettable, and a decidedly limited scope. If you must see it, this is a better way than waiting for it to come to late-night TV, but I wouldn't do much more than Rent It.

The DVD

Video:
Kino Lorber delivers this 1080p HD presentation in a 1.85:1 ratio that delivers solidly average Blu-ray quality. Film grain is heavy at times, but doesn't look digital-noisy. The print is free of most blemishes and damage, the better to focus on OK detail levels in the foreground, which don't hold up all that well as your eye ventures deeper into the depth of field. Colors are TV-movie accurate, natural, and saturated, in other words, pretty just OK as well. While certainly better than a DVD, the visual quality on display here doesn't really take it to the next level.

Sound:
DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio is active enough, with requisite stereo separation bringing life to the few crowd scenes, and there isn't any serious distortion or damage apparent. Soundtrack songs sound flat, while hovering mostly in the mid-range, but did point out (to me at least) an unknown Supertramp song. Otherwise, dialog is presented up-front in the center channel, clear enough to discern its looped nature.

Extras:
Extras are limited to Kino Lorber Trailers.

Final Thoughts:
1984's Finders Keepers earned theatrical release through CBS, at a time when they had a briefly active movie division that released 11 films. Films, (according to Wikipedia) which were discards from more serious studios. Looking at the slate, Better Off Dead is the most high-profile, while the rest are mostly unknown, and so understandably fine company for Finders Keepers. This low wattage crime comedy reaches nicely madcap heights once towards the end. Otherwise, it's an unimpressive time-waster with characters either unlikeable or forgettable, and a decidedly limited scope. If you must see it, this is a better way than waiting for it to come to late-night TV, but I wouldn't do much more than Rent It.

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