I Am Sam
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Metascore
28 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 77 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Sean Penn
  • Summary: The compelling story of Sam Dawson (Penn), a mentally challenged father raising his daughter Lucy with the help of an extraordinary group of friends. When a social worker suggests that Lucy should be placed in foster care, Sam forms an unlikely alliance with a high-powered attorney (Pfeiffer). Together they struggle to convince the system that Sam deserves to get his daughter back and, in the process, fuse a bond that results in a unique testament to the power of unconditional love. (New Line Cinema)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 33
  3. Negative: 19 out of 33
  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    Penn makes us take the leap required by Kristine Johnson and Jessie Nelson's screenplay -- you end up deeply caring about Sam and Lucy.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    The kind of performance Penn delivers in I Am Sam, which may look hard, is easy, compared, say, to his amazing work in Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown."
  3. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    38
    The film's one realistic performance is that of Dakota Fanning as Lucy, whose child's shame, fear and resourcefulness ground the movie in recognizable behavior. She breathes air into this suffocating enterprise.
    All this critic's reviews
  4. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    38
    There's only one excuse for the sentimental and ham-handed I Am Sam, and it's not to tout the rights of the mentally disabled.
    All this critic's reviews

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 47
  3. Negative: 3 out of 47
  1. SaraiV.
    10
    This is the best movie ever!
  2. IAmSam1131
    10
    Why don't the critics like this? It was so realistic and wonderful. The critics are being bad at their job. >:l Yes watchers, pretty much all love this. This is EPICCCC… Collapse
  3. Compi24
    8
    It may be overly sweet, but it's still an engaging film with one of Sean Penn's greatest performances sealed within it.
  4. grandpajoe6191
    4
    I agree the movie was pretty cheesy and tacky for its taste but seriously, "I am Sam" doesn't deserve this much hate.

See all 47 User Reviews

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