| In the process, he teaches her a great deal about love and whether it's really all needed | He has a daughter who's homeless mother has abandons them both |
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| Pfeiffer, on the other hand, as Sam's lawyer Rita Harrison just didn't carry the role off that well, and even the courtroom scenes to me lacked the tension one would have expected from such an emotionally-laden issue | But what a pleasant surprise this movie turned out to be! Having said that, I still enjoyed this movie very much |
| I have no specific criticism to make of him; as an actor he simply doesn't appeal to me | A mentally handicapped 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 |
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| In fact, I thought the only performance that was better than Penn's came not from Michelle Pfeiffer who disappointed me a bit, actually but rather from little Dakota Fanning as Sam's daughter Lucy | Sam finds a lawyer who tells the case pro bono |
She seemed so natural in this role, and I would hope that we see more of her in the years to come.
7| He brings a realism to the character of Sam Dawson, and portrays him sensitively and with real emotion | The movie weakens in the last little bit, going for the sappy and highly unrealistic ending - unrealistic particularly in the way Lucy's foster mother Laura Dern ends up handling the situation |
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| : I mean you're different | Penn is actually very good in this role |
: But what do you mean? Nobody else's daddy ever comes to the park.
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