Some of cinema's most iconic shots of Chicago appear in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and the film is certainly Matthew Broderick's most iconic role. So, it's hard to watch the actor in the Chicago-set Diminished Capacity and not ask yourself, "is this what's happened to Ferris?" He is now relatively passive, paunchy and pitiful in the role of Cooper, a newspaper editor who has recently suffered a mildly debilitating concussion. And the character could be classified as yet another sad sack, one of three such parts he can be seen playing at present (Then She Found Me opened in April and is still in theaters; Finding Amanda debuted last week).

But is it fair that we most associate Broderick with Ferris, thereby continuing our disappointment in seeing him play one nebbish nobody after another? Couldn't we redirect our memories and accept that Broderick's modern roles are more like grown-up versions of Eugene Jerome, of Neil Simon's plays Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues, who he portrayed on Broadway as well as in the film adaptation of Biloxi? Were Eugene not the fictional incarnation of Simon and had he not therefore become a famous writer (and were he not from an earlier time period), the character surely could have gone on to be the pathetic teacher of Election or Then She Found Me or the absentminded editor of Diminished Capacity.

Oh boy. Let me preface this review by saying that I truly go into all films (festival or otherwise) hoping to love what I see on the big screen. During the movie, I will always try my damnedest to find something worthwhile; something positive to say afterwards. But then you get to a film like Finding Amanda and there's really nowhere to go. Aside from a few cute one-liners, this film was a complete disaster -- to the point where I would strongly advise the creators not to screen this anywhere else until more work was done to it. I hate to be that guy, and I seriously have nothing against the filmmakers, but watching this flick felt like slowing down to check out an accident on the freeway. At first, it doesn't look so bad ... but then you get up close and everything is completely demolished.

Then again, we should've seen this coming. Right off the bat you have what feels like a comedy about a broken television writer/producer (Matthew Broderick) who, in order to prove to his wife that he's not a degenerate gambler/alcoholic, takes a trip to Las Vegas to convince their drug-addicted niece (Brittany Snow), who hooks for a living, to enter rehab. Gee, sounds like a laugh fest! But Broderick was great in smaller, quirkier films like Election; perhaps Finding Amanda would, well, find the right darkly comedic tone and take off from there? Yeah ... not so much. In fact, they should've renamed this one Finding the Right Tone.

Another year, another Tribeca Film Festival. I'm pretty excited about Tribeca this year, as they've obviously listened to all the complaints from last year and a) cut down their slate pretty significantly, and b) centralized the entire festival so that it's, technically, below 14th street. No, the Tribeca Film Festival is still not in Tribeca, but it does help that the screenings are in one or two locations and not spread out across the entire city. This, I hope, will give the fest a more personal vibe, like the one I've experienced at Sundance, SXSW and even Berlin.

What's there to look forward to this year at Tribeca? Well, aside from big premieres like Baby Mama, Speed Racer, Redbelt and War, Inc, there's a ton of tinier films that have caught my eye and teased me with their alluring plot descriptions. Here's seven -- wait, strike that -- eight films I'm really looking forward to ...

Bart Got a Room (pictured above)

Starring William H. Macy, Cheryl Hines and Steve Kaplan, Bart Got a Room follows one dweeb-ish kid whose life turns upside down when the school's biggest loser secures not only a date to the prom before him, but also a hotel room. While our hero attempts to land his own prom date, his divorced (and eccentric) parents search, independently, for love. Not only am I sucker for nerdy, high school stories, but there's no way in hell I could resist a movie featuring William H. Macy rockin' a sweet Jew-fro.

More people have signed on to star in more movies. Check it out:

• Even though Idlewild wasn't received as warmly as he would have liked, that's not stopping Outkast's André Benjamin from seeking out additional material. The actor-musician is in final negotiations to star alongside Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson in Semi-Pro -- ya know, the Ferrell basketball flick we've mentioned before. Benjamin would join Harrelson as a player on the fictional ABA team (Flint, Michigan Tropics) that Ferrell coaches. How will this one stack up against Ferrell's other sports-related comedies? Well, Jon Heder isn't it -- so it's definitely got that going for it.
• So I'm kind of digging the cast of Sweeney Todd so far, what with Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter already attached to star. Though I missed the staged musical version when it was on Broadway, the premise seems tasty enough -- and I'm certainly looking forward to Tim Burton's take on the movie-musical genre. Add to that the recent signing of Alan Rickman (who is set to play Judge Turpin, the man responsible for throwing Todd in prison causing him to lose his family and return for revenge) and we may have a gem in the making. Rickman is always great as the villain -- in my opinion, I wouldn't mind watching him star as the bad guy in every film. Can we make that happen? Please?
• What's up with this film Finding Amanda? Matthew Broderick plays an alcoholic gambler who's also a television producer, and he must travel to Las Vegas in order to convince his niece, a stripper-hooker, to go into rehab? Are they serious? It's like Leaving Las Vegas, only with Ferris Bueller. Needless to say, the filmmakers have finally found their Amanda -- and it's not Evan Rachel Wood, as previously reported. Brittany Snow (John Tucker Must Die) has, instead, decided to take on the role. And you know what rhymes with 'snow,' right? Pic begins shooting early next month in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

The other day I was flipping channels (as I often do) and I stumbled across the movie War Games playing on one of my favorite High Def networks (HDNet Movies, in case you were wondering). It was just starting, so I decided to settle in and watch. I had not seen the movie in many years but as I watched it, I realized how much a part of my life Matthew Broderick and his films have been over the years. As I grew up, so did he -- and during that time there was always a film of his that I could watch, enjoy and relate to in some way. From War Games through Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Glory, The Freshman, Election and The Producers, Broderick and his films have consistently been an entertaining and welcome presence in my life -- like an old friend who comes to visit every so often.

Now Broderick is starring in a new film which sounds like it could be another one to add to my list of old friends. According to Variety, Broderick is set to star in Rescue Me co-creator Peter Tolan's feature writing/directing debut Finding Amanda. In the film Broderick plays an alcoholic and gambling-addicted TV producer who tries to convince his niece, who also happens to be a hooker, to go into rehab. Evan Rachel Wood of Thirteen and Running with Scissors is currently in negotiations to play Broderick's niece in the film.

I have to admit that after reading the description of Finding Amanda I'm on the fence about it. On the surface, it looks to have all the elements that go into making a successful film: the acting skill of Matthew Broderick, the writing and directing talent of Peter Tolan (his Rescue Me is one of my favorite shows) and the potential involvement of the very talented Evan Rachel Wood. All of these things together should spell "winner."

I really hope they do because the story sounds like the weakest part here -- more "movie of the week" or "after school special" than Hollywood feature film. Maybe once its all put together it will end up being great. With these people involved it really should be but I guess you can never be completely sure of anything these days. Finding Amanda is scheduled to start shooting January 3rd in L.A. and Las Vegas.

What's your favorite Matthew Broderick film?