Rating: 
Summary: a have to see movie
Review: Sean Penn does an outstanding job in this movie. He is never out of character and plays the part so well.
While your not laughing in this movie your crying. It is a story about a man with a mental illnes trying to gain custody of his child, Lucy.
If you haven't seen this movie yet, you are missing out on great acting, a great story, and a great movie!
Rating:
Summary: I Am Sam
Review: This was the most touching movie I have ever seen. I was laughing most of the time and trying to hold back tears during the other parts. Without a doubt, this is my favorite movie. Love is all you need.
Rating:
Summary: ignore those jerks who give this movie less than 5 stars
Review: this is probably the best movie ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Not nominated for an Oscar?!
Review: I will admit, I make fun of my mom for crying in movies. And even the not-so-sad movies, she'll still cry about them. I'm not an emotional person when it comes to films, because the way the actors act and portray their characters usually doesn't convince me or tamper with my tears. Come to think of it, I think the only one that made me shed tears was "Snowman" back when I was about 5 years old. This, however, had me wiping my nose and eyes every minute. AND I HATE IT! But when an actor or an actress can convince you so well to feel bad for them, you know they've done it. And that's EXACTLY what this movie did to me.Sean Penn played his role so well you'd think he was actually handicapped like that. He never, ever, even the slightest bit broke out of character, which is amazing. His struggle to regain custody of his child is tear material, but the fact that he's handicapped and no one thinks he can makes the movie toy with your mind. It worked for me. Michelle Pfeiffer did an amazing job as well. She has always impressed me with every role; from "The Fabulous Baker Boys" to "What Lies Beneath". She proved herself again. She did a great job protraying the lawyer she portrayed; my mom is almost the exact same way, and our life unfolded quite like hers. A movie is even more convincing when you can relate to it personally. Also, a woman who can look that great at 45 deserves just an award for that. The thing I liked most about this movie was the way that it was shot. The angles they used, and the almost "casual" sense of shooting I guess. The constant jerking of the camera, the zooming in and zooming out. Movies aren't usually shot that way, but this movie pulls it off beautifully and it fits it perfect. Great, great, GREAT movie. And how come no Academy Awards or Golden Globes? The movie was jipped, and so were Penn and Pfeiffer. -emily.
Rating:
Summary: Meet Sam!
Review: Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer remind us that love is all you need in this touching story about life, love and laughter. "I Am Sam" is the story of a mentally challenged father (Sean Penn) who enlists a high profile lawyer (Michelle Pfeiffer) to help him regain custody of his daughter (played by the marvellous Dakota Fanning who would go on to appear in Steven Spielberg's "TAKEN"). At the beginning of the movie we are introduced to Sam and see him working at his job in Starbucks. Soon after we see a woman giving birth to a young baby. Sam names the baby Lucy, based on a Beatles song. The mother who it turns out was homeless and just needed somewhere to stay one night didn't plan on having a baby with Sam, and so runs off later, leaving a very disoriented Sam with the baby. Sam makes the decision to take his baby home. Although their are several problems initially, Sam is helped by his fellow mentally challenged friends. Lucy reaches the age of 7 and her school teachers meet Sam and express concerns. Sam's mental age is that of a 7 year old, and they are concerned about what happens when Lucy turns 8. Eventually social services become involved and Lucy is taken away from Sam. Based on advice from his friends, Sam seeks the help of a lawyer to get Lucy back. Sometimes when movies are advertised they are given a tag line. When this was released in the UK in 2002, a British newspaper described "I Am Sam" as the "tearjerker of the year". It can often be said that people can't dictate how you feel, and so if someone tells you the film is going to be a tearjerker then it quite often won't deliver. It's like having extremely high expectations for a movie. You are quite likely to be disappointed. I'm glad I wasn't with this, and it certainly delivered. To be honest, the main reason I wanted to see this movie was because I'd seen such an inspired performance from Dakota Fanning in "TAKEN", that I wanted to see more here. If I hadn't wanted to see more of Dakota then I quite possibly would have missed out on this movie. All of acting in this movie from leads and the supporting cast is just perfect for this kind of movie. The direction by director and co-writer Jessie Nelson is very thought out and the director of photography has his work cut out, especially when it comes to seeing the world the way Sam would see it. I was ready for this movie not to deliver on some of the emotion, but fortunately it did, creating a very memorable movie experience. The DVD features a Commentary by director/Co-screenwriter Jessie Nelson and it is very delicately done. Jessie Nelson is informative and has such a wonderful vocal quality. I could almost imagine her being a narrator like Dakota Fanning was on "TAKEN". Jessie Nelson is very compassionate about this project as any director should be. So much so, that this is probably the first time I'd describe a DVD commentary as being beautiful. Also on the DVD is a Theatrical trailer and the Original Documentary: "Becoming Sam" which is a fascinating look at what it took to put the movie together, as well as Deleted and Alternate Scenes with optional director commentary. Also featured on this Region 1 US DVD version is some DVD-ROM CONTENT including Script-to-Screen, Link to Original Website and Hot Spot. The movie itself is in Widescreen anamorphic format. I met Sam, maybe you should meet him too.
Rating:
Summary: Awwww
Review: I for one enjoyed this movie. It is such a touching story. I cried several times. The story is good all the way through. I love Sam's friends. I also quite enjoy how Sam ends up helping others while helping himself. I must repeat again this is such a touching story. Sean Penn really did a wonderful job.
Rating: 
Summary: What a piece ...
Review: I went into this movie with a completely open mind. I am a big Sean Penn fan and have even learned to tolerate Michelle Pfeiffer. This movie is a [not what I expected]. I don't think that I have ever seen a movie which treated the viewer more like an idiot than this movie does. We are lead to believe that Sam has the intellect of a 7 year old but throughout the film he uses terms such as "harass", "constancy", among others, appropriately and with a certain level of sophistication. If you are really looking for a movie that undermines your intellect and treats you as the one that is intellectually challenged then this is the one for you. If not....skip the movie and get the soundtrack....the only worthwhile piece of this production.
Rating: 
Summary: Help!
Review: This film is not for everyone. It's definitely sentimental (if you like that in film). It's about an autistic man who is fond of the Beatles and is trying to raise a young daughter. Child services tries to "protect" the child by placing her in separate custody. A court battle ensues.
Good points: Excellent acting. Dakota Fanning was only 7 years old when she made this. And anyone who can go toe to toe in acting across from Sean Penn is quite an actor.
The not so good points: Too much hand-held camerawork. Odd use of monochromatic filters (green and later in the film, blue). Uneven pacing. Inability to sustain my interest.
The DVD: Looks sharp and sounds great.
DVD extras: I was not interested enough in this film to check out extras, but there seems to be a fair amount.
The soundtrack: Very nice remakes of Beatles songs.
Let it be......
Rating:
Summary: Wow. This film is really bad.
Review: As a brother to a mentally hadicapped individual and an employee of my city's social services department, I could not begin to point out all the misconceptions brought to light in this film.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD MOVIE
Review: This movie is sort of sad, and sort of,well, sad, oh yeah and happy. Thism ovie is of a man who is mentoly challenged and is left from his wife after she has a baby. His forced to rais the baby, and as she(the baby)grows older, she's finding it hard to have a retarded dad. He(the dad) has an I.Q of a 7 year old and his daugter is smarter than he. The law is taking the daugter away from the dad. Can he get her back?
This movie has average swears, but 2 eff words.
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