I Am Sam (2001)
Grade: B-
Cast: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Laura Dern
Director: Jessie Nelson
Rated PG-13 for language.


Nobody is more surprised than me that I even KIND OF enjoyed "I Am Sam", the stupendously predictable but, for some otherworldly, unanticipated reason, warm and funny dramedy about a retarded man trying to regain custody of his daughter. His intelligence level is that of a seven year old, and his daughter just turned seven. Hey, I don’t believe it any more than you do, but I laughed so much at "I Am Sam" that it’s hardly a terrible film—and it features some of the best acting of 2001.

Sean Penn plays Sam with a startling brilliance that had me hooked early on. He joins the ranks of Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man" and definitely not Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump" for his stunningly gripping portrayal of a retarded man. I’m not sure if he could be any better. Playing his lawyer, Michelle Pfeiffer gives one of her best performances. She has to be patient to deal with Sam, and her home life isn’t very good—thus, Pfeiffer’s character, through her problems, becomes surprisingly 3-D. And it’s not only her character that deserves recognition, but Pfeiffer herself. She is excellent, whether she’s doing quiet work or a breakdown scene. Perhaps the most surprising performance in the film comes from seven-year-old Dakota Fanning. Her work here is better than some actors six times her age. The only other really notable cast member is Laura Dern, who plays Lucy’s (that’s Sam’s daughter’s name) new mother. Not only is Dern good, but she also has a character who is not, oddly enough, a stereotype—isn’t the mom taking the child from the hero always supposed to be a bitch? Oh, and special recognition to Sam’s group of friends—all very, very funny in a warm, but not mocking manner.

That pretty much describes the film. Very, very funny in a warm, but not mocking manner. "I Am Sam" never ends up making fun of its hero or his retarded friends, but they do supply us with some big laughs that sound corny when described but are hilarious in context. This may or may not be because of Jessie Nelson’s direction. There are things I didn’t like about the direction, but I suppose Nelson is the reason for the overall tone of the film, which is quite good.

The only unpredictable thing about "I Am Sam" is how good it is, and I feel that I have to list the things about it that I really didn’t like to compensate for the fact that it’s a major guilty pleasure if ever I had one. First of all, the cinematography. Yuck. Awful. It tries to be much too flashy—zooming in every two seconds, cutting away every half of a second. It nearly ruins a movie that is already skating on thin ice to begin with. Also, I didn’t like the unbelievable ending. Or the fact that we are expected to believe that Sam raised a girl for seven years. Or the raging predictability. It must be a darn enjoyable movie, then, for me to overlook these major flaws.

Among the other very good things "I Am Sam" has to offer is an excellent soundtrack. All of the songs on it are Beatles songs remade by currently active artists. From the Black Crowes to Sheryl Crow, and from Aimee Mann to the Wallflowers, all of the covers are quite good. Sam is obsessed with the Beatles, see, so all of it is appropriate. For the remaining Beatles, however—Paul and Ringo, for the record—watching the film must be hell; it probably plays like the obsessed fan who not only wants an autographed picture, but also wants to tell the story of how his or her retarded brother beat the system and triumphed against life’s cynics.

If I am brief, it is because "I Am Sam" is easy to admire but hard to praise. It has so many things wrong with it that, when I sat down to write a review, I realized my opinion was going to be a very tough sell. Despite my love for it, it’s so sentimental I want to bash it to pieces. But to use the words of a certain 60s band, I’ll let it be.


-Alex, July 2002