I Am Sam

Pros: Moving, passionate
Cons: none

“I am Sam” is the moving story of a Father and the love for his daughter, and the challenges that he has in demonstrating his ability to be a ‘proper’ father to her, despite his own limitations. Sam, played by Sean Penn, is a mentally retarded father ...

Pros: Penn, Fanning, Sam's friends, sweet, moving
Cons: Predictable, unrealistic, manipulative, Michelle Pfeiffer

During I am Sam, I forgot that I was watching Sean Penn portraying a mentally handicapped man. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but that’s the mark of great acting. Like Charlize Theron in Monster, Penn completely transforms himself ...

Pros: Great perfomances, story is touching while not being too sappy
Cons: a little one sided

In I Am Sam, Sean Penn (Mystic River) plays Sam Dawson a mentally handicapped man who takes in a homeless woman and gets her pregnant. The woman, as soon as she gives birth, flees leaving Sam to care for their daughter alone. Sam, a Beatles fanatic, ...

Pros: Great soundtrack, fantastic acting, meaningful and emotional story
Cons: Absolutely nothing, except the amount of tissues I had to use

All right, to be honest, I didn't plan on watching this movie... I didn't know what it was about. I actually bought the soundtrack because I am a huge Beatles fan, and though I don't usually like covers, the artists "covering" looked good (I find ...

Pros: Performances, characters good intentions, reasonably 3-D for this genre
Cons: Still a little one-sided, soundtrack, Pfeiffer, overlong.

I know, I should hate this film, but y'know what? I didn't find it nearly as one-sided or cloying as I was lead to believe. It's not entirely even-handed, but it's close enough, interesting, persuasive, and well-acted. Sean Penn does not showboat in ...

Pros: Very well written - with a moral we all need to learn
Cons: Film shots move quickly at times

What does it take to be a good parent? We all have our answers to that question - but I think we c ...

Pros: ACTING! Character and writing.
Cons: Obvious Dichotomy set up. Plot gets nailed in.

For a long time, it seemed all Sean Penn was truly associated with was Madonna and smacking around ...

Pros: A very funny yet moving story in the spirit of "Rainman" and "Forest Gump."
Cons: Slightly weak ending, but not enough so to deter from the movie overall.

I AM SAM sent chills down my spine, not because it was a thriller, but because it was a very realistically acted and thus emotionally provocative movie; it had me laughing and crying at the same time.

The makers of I AM SAM must have been...

Pros: Well written, well acted, well made film. Thought-provoking ambiguity.
Cons: Perhaps less meaningful if you're not a parent.

This is a challenging film. You cannot watch it without reassessing your concept of parenthood--especially if you are a parent. It also challenges the film industry. There are no good guys, no bad guys. There's slightly daring direction and...

Pros: Very touching, outstanding acting and excellent soundtrack
Cons: I felt it was a little "chopped up" in editing

"I am Sam" for me really showed that Sean Penn can act. I think he did an amazing job of playing a mentally challenged man facing the task of trying to raise a daughter that is quickly becoming more advanced than he is. I was very touched by the movie...

Pros: few
Cons: many

The mentally handicapped are people too.

I want to go ahead and make sure we’re all on the same page with this right off the bat. I don’t want to mislead anyone here. Because, apparently New Line Cinema feels that an enormous amount of...

Pros: Thought-provoking, tear-jerker, funny
Cons: Might go through a box of kleenex's!

It was a hot summer night, and no one wanted to be outside when we could be in the air conditioning. My Uncle Danny, suggested this film, and so we all settled in to watch it. From the beginning, I loved it. This is the story of a Mentally Retarded...

Pros: Worst movie I've ever seen (at least I know which one it is now).
Cons: Worst movie I've ever seen.

If I wanted to see a Starbucks commercial, I would have watched MTV. If I wanted to watch a THREE HOUR Starbucks commercial, I would pick this movie. Almost every scene is opened with an establishing shot of a Starbucks (the main character Sam works...

Pros: Sean Penn does a good job.
Cons: Simple answers to complex problems.

Would you hire a 7-year-old to baby-sit for you kid? NO! I didn’t think so. My boys are 9 and 12, and I still only do about an hour away to the grocery with neighbors watching, my parents at home a mile away, and a cell phone on my side. That’s no...

Pros: Sean Penn's performance was phenomenal! Since I have a mentally challenged brother very honest portrayal.
Cons: I wonder how much Starbuck's paid for the advertisement?

I think that it is important in todays environment to let everyone know there are lots of different types of people in our world. Sean Penn did a wonderful job of portraying the mentally challenged Sam. The love that was transmitted between a father...