I Am SamMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 28 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 OK for kids 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Not about the justice or injustice of the legal system. Rather it's about the tragedy of Sam's predicament. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Kevin Thomas

    A warm, hard-to-resist story. Read full review

  • 50
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    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." Read full review

  • 42
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    The dumbing down of low-IQ sentimentality. Read full review

  • 40
    The New York Times | Dana Stevens

    Not a bad movie, and its intentions are unimpeachable. But its sentimentality is so relentless and its narrative so predictable that the life is very nearly squeezed out of it. Read full review

  • 30
    Washington Post | Rita Kempley

    Well-intentioned but ludicrous tale. Read full review

  • 30
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Contrived, manipulative and shamelessly sentimental, this film is notable for the courageous reach of Sean Penn, who gives a bold, heartfelt performance. Read full review

  • 25
    USA Today | Mike Clark

    Drawn out and dishonest in equal measure, Sam fights it out with "The Majestic" for the title of worst "important" movie of the year. Read full review

  • 20
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    The movie that Disney uses to explore this premise drips with so much corporate good-neighbor syrup, you might want to wear something waterproof. And Penn's performance is, at best, ripe for discussion. Read full review

  • 10
    Variety | Robert Koehler

    An especially insipid example of the Hollywood message movie. Read full review

View more reviews for I Am Sam on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+ Moving film with great acting seems too contrived.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie has the requisite one f-word, now standard in PG-13 movies, and some other mild language. There is a stong reference to adultery. Lucy's mother is a homeless woman who deserts her after she is born. Some children (and adults) will find the custody conflicts and discussion of parenting issues upsetting.
  • Families can talk about what Sam should do to give Lucy everything she needs. What problems are they likely to have as she gets older? What did Rita learn from Sam, and why was it only Sam who could teach it to her? A number of the people in the movie struggle with parenting issues -- there has never been a court proceeding in history that permitted such discussion of the family lives of all the participants and witnesses. How do you see those struggles in the families around you?
What to watch for
  • violence false1 Violence: Tense family situations.
  • sex false1 Sex: Mild references to out of wedlock pregnancy, adultery.
  • language false3 Language: Brief strong language.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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