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"Finders Keepers"
HHH
U.S. Documentary
A story of justice, reality-show style, has deeper undertones in "Finders Keepers," a documentary that's by turns funny and thoughtful. In the small town of Maiden, N.C., flea-market entrepreneur Shannon Whisnaut made a find at a storage-locker auction: A mummified human leg in a smoker barbecue grill. Whisnaut is all ready to turn this find into a tourist attraction, when the leg's previous owner, John Wood, shows up. Wood lost his leg in a small-plane crash, a crash that also killed his father. When Wood asks Whisnaut to return his leg, the dispute becomes tabloid-TV news and reality-show fodder. Directors Bryan Carberry and Clay Tweel have their fun milking this story's trashier side for laughs. But then they dig into the addictions plaguing both men — for Wood, alcohol and cocaine; for Whisnaut, the lure of the spotlight — and unearth some tender emotions.
- Sean P. Means
"Finders Keepers" is screening in the U.S. Documentary competition of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It screens again: Friday, 6 p.m., Salt Lake City Library Theatre; Saturday, 9 a.m., Yarrow Hotel Theatre, Park City.