i love this movie cos of the message it passes across to everyone.it is a movie that teaches parents to love and create time for their children and all cost.it teaches love (healty)and the power of true friendship
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I am Sam
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Is it age appropriate?
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Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 14. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Moving film with great acting seems too contrived.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 14 and Up
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
About I am Sam
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.
Read our full review by Nell Minow
Families Can Talk About
- 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?
Our Members Say
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title on for age 7 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
- I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
Extremely good movie
Sean Penn gives THE BEST male performance besides Eastwood in Gran Torino I've ever seen, and the plot is absolutely magical and works well with each actor's talents.
- I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
absolutly amazing
this is a sweet, heart warming film, with an amzing cast and phonomonal acting! the language is pretty heavy, but teens will understand the content.
- I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
Brilliant (though sad) film; Penn, Pfieffer, and Fanning shine.
I Am Sam tells the story of Sam Dawson (Sean Peen), a mentally challenged man who works at IHOP. He is given the surprise of his life when he realizes that he must take care of a child (he accidentally got a homeless woman pregnant when she slept with him). He names the child Lucy Diamond Dawson (Dakota Fanning), after a Beatles song. On her 7th birthday, authorities take away Lucy, thinking that she will have a more successful life if she is parented by someone who isn't mentally challenged. Sam must now fight for his right to maintain custody of Lucy with help from his lawyer Rita (Michelle Pfieffer). This movie contains strong language for a PG-13. There are several utters of "b*tch", "hell", "g*ddamn", and one use of "f*ck". The movie also contains some sexual content (Rita's husband has sex with other women, Sam gets a homeless woman pregnant by accident, a hooker comes on to Sam in a restaurant) and heavy commercialism for IHOP, The Beatles, and Nickelodeon. Despite its confusing ending (we don't learn whether or not Sam regains custody of Lucy), I Am Sam is a wonderful movie that I whole-heartedly recommend to everyone.
- I rate this title on for age 17 and give it
I liked this movie mainly because of the way it portrays people who are mentally disabled. I feel that when people think of the mentally disabled that they automatically think that they are incapable of many things. This movie shows that there are many fully functioning people who are mentally disabled. Another message that I took from the movie is that sometimes people get wrapped up in their work and lose sight of things that are important to them such as their children or their marriage. And sometimes it takes a step back to see the bigger picture. A good movie about love and the great lengths that people will go to retain it.
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