I Am Sam

Pros: Good acting, good Beatles covers
Cons: Not living in the real world

Sometimes, a civil servant has a thankless job. Not only do the actors who play civil servants in “I Am Sam” have thankless jobs, but so do the other fine actors in this ensemble cast. Sean Penn stars as Sam Dawson, a Starbucks employee with a mental...

Pros: Penn & Pfeiffer's performances. The cute little girl. Emotionally evocative.
Cons: That's for you to decide.

I never knew that much about Sean Penn. Just that he might have had a fling with Madonna and that he was put in jail for hitting some girl. But even when memory serves you right, you only know as much as the media tells you. Kind of why I was ...

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: 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: A subject we "normal" people tend to ignore. The performances of Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer.
Cons: Some evidently necessary but regrettable product placements, and some manipulation.

"You can always have a happy ending," Orson Welles used to say. "It just depends on where you stop the movie." That sober observation is the problem mentally challenged Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) faces in his struggle to retain custody of his daughter,...

Pros: Sean Penn's excellent portrayal of a handicapped man fighting to retain custody of his daughter
Cons: One or two slow moving parts but not enough to ruin the picture

It’s hard to describe a movie that leaves you feeling sad and happy at the same time. “I AM SAM” did just that to me.

SEAN PENN, plays Sam Dawson, a developementally disabled person. (Referred to in the movie as retarded). Sam lives alone...

Pros: it reminds you that there are people that are different from you
Cons: none

I AM SAM is a movie that made me laugh and cry. I was crying in the middle of the movie. Most people were crying at the end.

Sean Penn is Sam Dawson, a retarded man. He has an IQ of a 7 year old. But, he has a job at Starbucks, an...

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: 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: Sean Penn is outstanding - a very touching portrayal.
Cons: Film is a bit long. Occasional sappy moments.

I received tickets to a sneak preview of the New Line Cinemas movie “I Am Sam”, and was very excited about seeing Sean Penn in a new film. I asked one of my friends to go and she said “No way! – I can’t cry that much in a theater. I just can’t.” I...

Pros: Acting was phenomenal. Great movie.
Cons: Maybe too long. Laura Dern wasn't great.

I think it’s one of the best movies of the year. But, to be quite honest with you, I never intended on seeing it. My flaw of being too sensitive fueled this lack of motivation to see I Am Sam. I am a grown man, and I still get way too sentimental....

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: 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: 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: A strong story that tugs on your heart strings, a wonderful little girl
Cons: I had some problems with the portrayal of the mentally challenged characters

I went into this movie knowing that I would not like it. I won tickets to a pre-screening from one of my favorite radio stations – Mix 96.1 here in San Antonio. The funny thing is that I won these tickets without knowing what movie they were for. I...

Pros: Touching, funny, sweet, insightful, and just magical.
Cons: Some inconsistencies and unanswered questions.

Hollywood has a new star...and I have a new favorite movie.

"I Am Sam" would not be the film that it is but for two outstanding performances - Sean Penn, as the mentally challenged Sam, and little Dakota Fanning as his amazingly precocious...

Pros: great acting on everyone's part, good story
Cons: subject matter lends itself to weepiness even from the start...

Michelle Pfeiffer sums up the great parenting race when she says she wakes up every morning and she's already lost. Her kid hates her because of the run and dodge schedule they must keep to keep up with the career demands. The question is not only...

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: Penn, Pfeiffer, Fanning and Wiest are all very good.
Cons: Too long and a few cutesy moments threaten to bog down the film.

When I first saw previews for “I Am Sam”, I cringed. The moment I heard Sean Penn give voice to the mentally challenged father he plays, I immediately imagined the actor campaigning for the role. “I am actor. See me act.” It appeared to be the type of...

Pros: Very good performances all around
Cons: They're all wasted on cloying material

The tearjerker genre relies on predictable, formulaic melodrama. I am not a big fan of such endeavors. Fortunately, they are occasionally occupied by actors with far more talent than the material deserves. I Am Sam is exactly that kind of movie....

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: Michelle Pfeiffer and Dianne Wiest are quite good.
Cons: Bad direction, bad editing and a REALLY bad script!

Sometimes the very best of intentions goes awfully wrong. Sometimes, in films, so far wrong that you sit there in a darkened theater wondering what in the world ever got a group of talented people to agree to make such an awful film. Surely not that...

Pros: Capable of making even jaded audience members go teary-eyed, top-notch acting, strong storyline
Cons: cinematography for the ritalin crowd, at least twenty minutes of commercialism

Strong lead actors at the top of their game are enough to make I am Sam enjoyable, but the real power of this film comes from the life-like circumstances of this offering's premise. In this backdrop of raw, emotional believability, Sean...

Pros: Sean Penn gives the best performance of his career.
Cons: Runs a little long, bordering on unbelievability.

I've never given much thought to the concept of Sean Penn as actor. Not for any particular reason, though I presume it's because I was never all that impressed with his bad-boy image from the 1980's. However, Penn's performance in "I Am Sam" is far more...

Pros: Penn is great in his role.
Cons: None.

Director Jessie Nelson has done a superb job in directing this challenging movie. The scenes were directed very well and despite of some very tensed scenes, nobody fouled up on their lines. Sean Penn does a very superb job in portraying the role of a...

Pros: Actors Sean Penn and Michelle Pfieffer. Also Dakota Fanning is a cute kid
Cons: Severely missing something here. Much, much too long

Understand that I used to cry every Monday night watching Little House on the Prairie. I cry at just about anything. And this movie did make me cry. But, I can't quite put into words why I felt manipulated.

I am Sam was an...

Pros: Superb performances, a feel good movie.
Cons: The portrayal of child services as an unforgiving government establishment.

It's not everyday you get to pay $7 to see a movie that makes you cry and yet let's you leave the theater with a somewhat better outlook on life as a whole.

I Am Sam, directed by Jessie Nelson of Corina, Corina fame, is as real as it gets at...

Pros: Solid performances, emotionally moving story, wonderful music
Cons: Odd direction

With solid performances and an emotionally moving story, I Am Sam is an heartbreaking yet uplifting delight.

Sam Dawson (Penn) is not your typical parent. He has the mental capacity of a seven year-old. Left to raise his daughter,...

Pros: Superb acting and the captivating characters that go along with that.
Cons: Too long.

Sam (Penn) is a mentally disabled man who supports himself and his six-year-old daughter working at a Starbucks café. His life is turned upside down when the youth authorities challenge his ability to raise his daughter. With the help of an ambitious,...

Pros: Amazing performances, endearing characters, terrific storyline!
Cons: None for me!

I think that perhaps this is Sean Penn's best performance in a film role ever! Sean Penn is SAM ... from the moment we see him on screen his performance is captivating; riveting; endearing; heart wrenching.

Penn portrays, Sam Dawson, an...

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: Retarded man raises child. State tries to take child away. Good plot
Cons: Seems like movie left out a lot.

Who do you side with? Sam, played by Sean Penn, is a retarded man with a mental age of a seven year old raising a daughter. The state tries to take the child away. Both sides have good arguments. Seems like the movie left a lot out.
...

Pros: Good morals, plot, story-line, great characters, and soundtrack.
Cons: Have to work really hard not to cry.

Sam is mentally retarded, and has the intelligence of a seven year old. He works at Starbucks, wiping up spills and making things look neat.

He made love to a homeless woman, and she got pregnant and left him with the baby, whom he named...

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: Dakota Fanning, Doug Hutchinson & Michelle Pfeiffer's breakdown
Cons: They tried a little too hard to make you cry.

Well, well, well. My review title could also easily have been: Dr. Seuss meets the Beatles in Fractured Fairy Tales' Happily Ever After Land. I promise, I'll be nice now.

My daughter (15) saw this movie before I did and when she got home,...

Pros: Sean Penn's performance, despite writers throwing in a few stretches and a few cutesy moments
Cons: A few contrived scenes; a bit predictable; ends slightly ambiguously

Along with Edward Norton, Kevin Spacey and Denzel Washington, Sean Penn is at the top of the class when it comes to present day actors. "I Am Sam" allows Penn to shine in his role as a mentally challenged young man with autistic tendencies and a...

Pros: This movie shows that love is stronger than anything and can beat all odds.
Cons: The ending was a little weak, and I felt that it was missing something.

Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer are incredible in this movie. They make this movie strong, and they play really believable parts.

Sean Penn plays the part of Sam who is not quite "normal", and has a daughter with a homeless woman. The...

Pros: Fine acting of Pfeiffer & Penn, good script, good direction
Cons: I seem to have attended to the pros more.

As I mentioned in my review of "A Beautiful Mind" I felt that the performance of Sean Penn in "I am Sam" should have received the "best actor" Screen Actors Guild award last night. Here's the reason Penn should win the Oscar.

The film is a...

Pros: Penn's performance, the innocence of the movie, and the message the movie conveyed.
Cons: Not a whole lot.

Going into the movie "I Am Sam" I was expecting a movie about the struggle of a mentally disabled man trying to keep his daughter from being taken from him. I had no idea that this movie was going to touch upon some many other areas of importance....

Pros: A Tear Jerker to beat all... If you like tearjerkers.
Cons: Too long, my friend and I cried thru the entire film.

At the very start of this movie, I mistakenly thought that Sean Penn was imitating Dustin Hoffman. Hoffman gave an oscar winning performance, in his portrayal of an autistic man in the film "Rainman". Then I came to realize that Sean Penn's character...

Pros: cast
Cons: unspontaneous

Without a doubt, Sean Penn comes through with an excellent acting performance as the father. Michelle Pfeiffer's performance as the top notch lawyer is pretty credible as well. While Pfeiffer and Penn deliver strong performances, Dakota Fanning...

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: Jerks tears of both joy and sadness from even the toughest of souls.
Cons: The ending left a little to be desired.

Sean Penn, and Michelle Pfeiffer did an excellent job acting in this movie.

Sean Penn played a man named Sam who has autisim, a mental state of a seven year old, and a low I.Q.

Michelle Pfeiffer played a lawyer, named Rita, that...

Pros: great acting, story , script.
Cons: a real tear-jerker.

This is a film worth an Oscar award. Sean Penn is Sam, a developmentally disabled man who tries to win custody of his 7-year old daughter. Michelle Pfeiffer is the lawyer who helps him in this case.
This film is a real tear jerker of a film. Many...

Pros: Award winning performance by Sean Penn, Michelle Pfifer, touching, heartwarming
Cons: nothing

Who knew that Sean Penn had it in him? I have to say that the most enthralling part of this movie was his performance. Within minutes I found myself thinking that he was, in fact, Sam Dawson. A performance that strongly rivals Tom Hank in Forrest Gump....

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...

Pros: Sean Penn is brilliant! Great soundtrack.
Cons: A little long but still worth the money

Upon initially hearing about "I Am Sam," I was really only interested in the stellar soundtrack for this film. Consisting entirely of Beatles covers by a wide array of today's rock stars, the soundtrack is fantastic. However, I decided to look into the...

Pros: The plot, the acting.
Cons: Nothing

I was a bit skeptical about this one 'cause I am not really a Sean Penn fan. I think the last movie I saw that had him in it was The Game. But in fact Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer did an excellent job in this one. For him to play the part of a grown...

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...