Rating: PG13
Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 12/28/2001(USA
Release Date: 06/18/2002
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD5.1/DDS/DTS
Run Time: 134 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: New Line Home Video
Sean Penn stars in this
drama as
Sam Dawson, a developmentally disabled adult who has been working at a coffee shop and raising his daughter
Lucy (
Dakota Fanning) for seven years.
Sam receives help in his parenting duties from a circle of trusted confidantes, including his ADD-afflicted best friend
Ifty (
Doug Hutchison), the paranoid
Robert (
Stanley DeSantis), an agoraphobic neighbor (
Dianne Wiest), and his other disabled pals,
Brad and
Joe (played by real-life developmentally challenged actors
Brad Silverman and
Joseph Rosenberg). Although he provides a structured and loving environment for
Lucy that includes regular visits to IHOP, video nights, and karaoke,
Sam's daughter is beginning to surpass him in mental acuity. When
Lucy begins intentionally stunting her own growth so as not to hurt her beloved father, social worker
Margaret (
Loretta Devine) takes action, removing the girl from her home and placing her in the temporary care of a foster mother,
Randy (
Laura Dern). As the day of his hearing looms,
Sam seeks out the aid of driven, obsessive lawyer
Rita Harrison (
Michelle Pfeiffer), who takes the case only to prove to her colleagues that she is willing to accept
pro bono work. Opposed by county lawyer
Turner (
Richard Schiff) in court,
Rita gradually comes to care for her client and his daughter, even as they force her to consider the limitations of her own abilities as a parent. The soundtrack for
I Am Sam (2001) gained considerable critical attention, consisting entirely of
Beatles cover songs by such contemporary artists as
The Black Crowes,
Eddie Vedder,
the Wallflowers, and
Aimee Mann, among others.
~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
;)
