February 26, 2002 -- "I Am Sam" is a tear-jerker tale of a child custody battle between the state and a mentally slow, autistic father. Intellectually, the film examines both sides of the custody battle, but emotionally, the fix is in. You know who is going to win this battle.

Sean Penn is fabulous in the role of Sam Dawson, the intellectually challenged, but emotionally gifted father of Lucy Diamond Dawson (Dakota Fanning of "24 Hours"). Lucy Diamond Dawson (named after the Beatles song) is a seven-year-old who is as cute as a button. The evil, overbearing minions of the state, led by social worker Margaret Calgrove (Loretta Devine of "Waiting to Exhale") and social services attorney Turner (Richard Schiff of the TV series "The West Wing"), descend on Sam Dawson, arguing his child should be removed from Dawson's care because he is too stupid to raise her. Dawson has the mental age of about seven, they argue, and his bright daughter will soon become too much for him to handle.

Indeed, Dawson's daughter is already smarter than he is and is already assuming the role of the parent. In one touching scene, she tells her father she doesn't want to be able to read words that he cannot read. He can't help her with her homework. She is hurt when other people make fun of her father. Also Dawson makes little money working in a coffee shop. He can't provide for her the way others can. There is also the matter of the foster parents, Bill and Randy Carpenter (played by Will Wallace and Laura Dern) who want to adopt Lucy and have the active support of social services to do so.

Against all that, Dawson only has his great love for his daughter and his willingness to do whatever it takes to get her back from the soulless tentacles of the state. He manages to get a top lawyer, Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer of "What Lies Beneath") to take his case. Rita has her own family problems, and comes with heavy emotional baggage. He also has his remarkable "support system" of friends, who have their own mental problems, a supportive employer and a helpful neighbor, Annie (Dianne Wiest of "The Horse Whisperer"). It is a kind of motley, but loveable crew.

The story is burdened by a thousand clichés, from the mentally handicapped, but emotionally noble character, the poor rich person syndrome, the smart person who puts work before family who learns valuable lessons from a mentally-challenged person (the "Rainman" plot), the traveling troupe of mentally-challenged funny, but good-hearted people ("King of Hearts," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," etc.), hard-hearted bureaucrats and a kind-hearted neighbor. The whole film is a kind of tribute to the Beatles. One scene has Sam and his friends crossing a street. The scene looks just like the cover of the Abbey Road album. When Turner questions Lucy on the stand about her father's shortcomings as a parent, she answers, "All you need is love." There are also a number of movie references, including an excerpt from Dustin Hoffman's tear-jerking speech from a courtroom scene in "Kramer versus Kramer." There are numerous references to other movies. The film is a little too cutely self-conscious about all these in-joke references.

While the camera movements are jerky, the musical score (as opposed to the soundtrack) is annoying (relies too heavily on percussion instruments, and I don't mean pianos), the editing isn't smooth, and the story is all over the place, the acting is excellent. Sean Penn, of course is one of the best actors in Hollywood and he does a great job with this very showy role, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. Pfeiffer also turns in a fine performance as does young Dakota Fanning and all the main supporting actors. Star Trek fans may spot Brent Spiner playing a shoe salesman and Rosalind Chao as a hooker in this film. Spiner played Data on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and has appeared in a number of films, including "Independence Day." Chao was a regular on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and has appeared in several films, including "What Dreams May Come."

The weaknesses in this film are many. It is not particularly believable because many of the characters are clichés or caricatures. The courtroom scenes are also unbelievable. The judge doesn't throw out protesters with signs saying "Free Lucy Dawson." He doesn't maintain control of the proceedings, allowing cheap shot tactics by both attorneys. Dawson's arrest on a bogus soliciting charge rings as true as an Enron off-shore tax shelter scheme. The acting almost makes up for the flaws in the rest of the film, but not quite. The soundtrack of the film is also good with some great Beatles songs, including a nice cover of "Across the Universe." This film rates a C.

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