I AM SAM (2001) (**)
There are films that people think are good that are so average that they infuriate me even more -- this is one of those films. They anger me like TV psychics anger me. They manipulate people's feelings. They pretend to be about something, but know nothing about the subject they speak about. They are frauds.
This story follows Sam (Sean Penn, DEAD MAN WALKING), a mentally challenged man who fathers a daughter named Lucy (Dakota Fanning, FATHER XMAS). Sam gets help with taking care of her from eccentric hermit Annie Cassell (Diane Wiest, LOST BOYS). Then the evil, uncaring child services come and want to take the child away. In comes big-ticket Beverly Hills lawyer Rita Harrison Williams (Michelle Pfeiffer, WITCHES OF EASTWICK), who finds Sam the perfect case to do pro bono and prove that she isn't a bloodsucking lawyer. For a time Lucy is placed with foster mother Randy Carpenter (Laura Dern, JURASSIC PARK), who seems good for the child, but is portrayed as an insensitive snob.