I Am Sam (2001)

A mentally retarded man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter, and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.

Director:

Jessie Nelson

Writers:

Kristine Johnson, Jessie Nelson

Stars:

Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Penn	...	Sam Dawson
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Rita Harrison Williams
Dakota Fanning	...	Lucy Diamond Dawson
Dianne Wiest	...	Annie Cassell
Loretta Devine	...	Margaret Calgrove
Richard Schiff	...	Mr. Turner
Laura Dern	...	Randy Carpenter
Brad Silverman	...	Brad (as Brad Allan Silverman)
Joseph Rosenberg	...	Joe
Stanley DeSantis	...	Robert
Doug Hutchison	...	Ifty
Rosalind Chao	...	Lily
Ken Jenkins	...	Judge Philip McNeily
Wendy Phillips	...	Miss Wright
Mason Lucero	...	Conner Rhodes

Storyline

Sam Dawson has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old. He works at a Starbucks and is obsessed with the Beatles. He has a daughter with a homeless woman; she abandons them as soon as they leave the hospital. He names his daughter Lucy Diamond (after the Beatles song), and raises her. But as she reaches age 7 herself, Sam's limitations start to become a problem at school; she's intentionally holding back to avoid looking smarter than him. The authorities take her away, and Sam shames high-priced lawyer Rita Harrison into taking his case pro bono. In the process, he teaches her a great deal about love, and whether it's really all you need.

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Plot Keywords:

love | lawyer | the beatles | custody | school | 

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Taglines:

love is all you need

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language

Details

Official Sites:

New Line Cinema [us] NZZ Online - Neue Zürcher Zeitung (German)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Yo soy Sam

Filming Locations:

Echo Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£151,079 (UK) (10 May 2002)

Gross:

£456,635 (UK) (24 May 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Avery Pix, Bedford Falls Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dakota Fanning's character is named Lucy Diamond from The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Michelle Pfeiffer's character's name is Rita Harrison, from the song "Lovely Rita" and the last name of Beatle George Harrison. Sam, Lucy, and Sam's friends walking across the street with the balloons is a tribute to the case cover of "Abbey Road". Sean Penn wanted the soundtrack to be all Beatles music, but was unable to get the rights, so he asked various artists to cover the Beatles songs he wanted to use. And in order for the re-recorded music to fit into the movie, each of the artists had to use the same tempo as the original Beatles songs.

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Goofs

Credits list "starbucks barrister" instead of "barista".

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Quotes

Lucy: All you need is love.

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Connections

References I Love Lucy (1951)

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Soundtracks

"Mother Nature's Son"
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow appears courtesy of A&M Records

User Reviews

Mentally challenged single dad fights to care for daughter

Sean Penn as a devoted father (Sam) who despite mental challenges, fights for the right to raise his child is convincing in a complete departure from his usual "bad guy" characters. Michelle Pfeiffer plays his reluctant "pro bono" elite lawyer, who eventually puts 110% into this case.

The love between Sam and his 7 year old daughter is evident in many sweet scenes (got Kleenex?), best described by a reclusive neighbor (wonderfully played by Dianne Wiest), who overcomes her hermit-like condition long enough to testify in Sam's behalf. Even the social workers who insisted on doing everything to "help the child" appear to be fighting emotions over this unusual case. The "support system", which includes several equally challenged "buddies", a very supportive employer, and many other people in the community gives evidence of our changing society, fostering inclusion and tolerance. Eventually even the prospective adoptive parents of Sam's daughter can't go on fighting against this exemplary father.

The girl playing Sam's daughter appears to be "gifted", at age 7 reading middle school material. Perhaps the "difference" between father & daughter's intelligence did not have to be in such an obvious extreme. The implication of a romantic involvement between Sam and his lawyer could have been avoided as well. The former is stretching it, but the latter is going too far. One can suspend her/his disbelief only so much! Since there are no "perfect" movies, I still consider this one pretty darn close! Highly recommended.