You wouldn't know it from recent pop culture, but there are a lot more stories and characters available in the public domain than just Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, and Frankenstein's Monster — and some are even by Americans. Case in point is Aaron and Adam Nee's very funny Band ofRobbers, which catches up with Huckleberry Finn (Kyle Gallner) and Tom Sawyer (director Adam Nee) as modern-day adults. Although he's become a police officer, Tom wants to get the old gang back together to find the treasure that eluded them as children, while Huck wants nothing to do with Tom's cunning plans and crazy capers, having just been released from prison and looking to go straight. Along for the ride are Tom and Huck's old friends Joe (Matthew Gray) and Ben (the always-welcome Hannibal Buress), and far more reluctantly, gardener Jorge (Daniel Edward Mora). Band of Robbersis full of deep references to the books, but also stands on its own as a fresh and occasionally touching take on the "overambitious young schmucks decide to do some crimes and get in over their heads," while treating its lower-class characters with an unusual level of humanity for this kind of picture. Mark Twain would no doubt approve.
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