Waste of time

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I've watched quite a few dramatic movies. Im a sucker for anything that can make me really feel for the characters. And never before have I cried for 15 straight minutes during a movie. This film is so wonderfully done and flawlessly tells the story of Sam and his struggle to get his daughter Lucy back. To explain anything further would probably spoil the whole movie, its really just something you have to experience for yourself.

I am sam is rated 7.6 at IMDb and considerably low at metacritic.com.Over the time since I first watched the movie. I believed if the conclusion was not in the favour of Sam but visiting rights were in his favour would have been excellent ending.The end however is more or less similar as Sam wants someone to be lucy's mother. It means it still fall in favour of critic's. Metacritic still has low rating, which leaves one wondering why! I recommend this movie. Nice emotional take.

Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) is mentally handicapped. He has a daughter but the mother runs away right out of the hospital. He finds himself as a working single dad to Lucy Diamond Dawson (Dakota Fanning). He gets his reclusive neighbor Annie Cassell (Dianne Wiest) to help along with his mentally challenged friends. Calgrove (Loretta Devine) and the Department of Child and Family Services go to court with prosecutor Mr. Turner (Richard Schiff) and take Lucy from Sam. Sam finds Rita Harrison Williams (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the Yellow Pages who has trouble communicating with her own son. She relents to do the case pro bono.This is such a heart-wrenching movie. I really want it to work out for these characters but the movie doesn't make it easy to like it. The light comical tones get really annoying. Some of it is sort of cute but the movie really suffers from it. I don't want to laugh AT Sam and his friends. I want to laugh with them. And the movie is also trying very hard to manipulate the sentimentality. Sometimes less is more.While Sean Penn overacts sometimes, I still like his character. And who doesn't love Dakota Fanning's character. Pfeiffer is the overwhelmed working mother character. Then add Dianne Wiest to the mix. It's awkward at times. It tries way too hard but I want good things for all these characters. That carries the day for me.

This enchanting tale of a fathers love for his daughter was simply sensational. The meaningful relationships which are carried through this cinematic experience are revolutionary, from Sam's love for Lucy, to the tremendous amount of love and care he receives from his friends, to lastly touching the life of Rita. The role of Annie I felt fell flat at times however, extremely crucial to the storyline. This film was quite difficult to watch at times as I could not imagine myself in these circumstances. It was devastating to watch as Lucy gets taken from Sam as it affects so many of the people in his life. Thankfully his friend suggests a lawyer from the phone book and he manages to get an appointment with her (Rita). In the beginning when first meeting Rita you quickly find that she is not everyone's cup of tea, however as the story unfolds you warm up to her. Throughout the storyline you find Rita begins to have a soft spot towards Sam as she has a 7 year old as well and could not imagine losing him. Slowly as you find Rita begins to warm up to Sam she opens up to him about her issues with her personal life and husband in which he responds that she should leave him. Near the end of the trial Rita comes over to Sam's house to prepare and gives him a suit casually slipping in that her husband left it when he moved out. This lead to my favourite line when Rita says, "I worry that I've gotten more out of this relationship than you." I bet she never thought her life would change so much by one person. Remarkable. The ending scene is Sam refereeing Lucy's soccer game and the two of them are having a blast. This was a wondrous way to end the film as you are hopeful that Sam still gets to be an important part of Lucy's life. I found this film to be captivating from beginning to end. There was just the right amount of comedic aspects to bring your spirits up as the tragedies were unfolding. A true classic for this girl. Solid 8 out of 10.