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Get the Beatles and Michelle Pfeiffer in a movie, what more do you want?

“I Am Sam” is the story of Sam Dawson played by Sean Penn, who is a mentally challenged father raising his daughter Lucy (Dakota Fanning) with the help of his close friends.

When Lucy turns seven she begins to intellectually surpass her father and their close bond is threatened when their situation comes under the scrutiny of a social worker who wants Lucy placed in foster care.

Sam faces a long, hard and challenging battle to get his daughter back. He gets the help of Rita Harrison played by Michelle Pfeiffer who is a high profile and self-absorbed attorney.

She initially decides to take his case for free as a challenge by her colleagues, but eventually she forms a close friendship with Sam.

On the surface they both seem to be completely different, but once the layers are removed, the audience sees into Rita’s life and her never ending goal for success which alienates her from her own son.

Penn shows the challenges that mentally disabled people face everyday. The love Sam bestows on his daughter truly touches the audience and several scenes throughout the movie are extremely emotional. Sam’s friends, who are mentally challenged as well, are always there to support him and stand by him through thick and thin.

Penn, Fanning and Pfeiffer all do a tremendous job and act with great conviction. I could not imagine anyone better to play their roles. All three characters undergo a journey and learn from both the past and the present.

Throughout the movie, several references are made to the Beatles, which I thought was extremely creative. The soundtrack to the movie is filled with classic Beatles songs such as “Blackbird,” sung by Sarah McLachlan; “Strawberry Fields Forever,” sung by Ben Harper and “I’m Looking Through You” performed by The Wallflowers. These songs are unique and fit perfectly in the movie.

Humorous scenes fill “I Am Sam” as well. In one such scene, Sam and his friends go to the store to buy shoes for Lucy and after much deliberation decide on one pair. When they are about to leave, one of Sam’s friends asks if they can get balloons. The next shot shows Lucy, Sam and his friends crossing the street with balloons in their hands.

This movie was a definite tearjerker also as it contains several touching scenes. In one scene, Sam is talking to his daughter in a room while being watched through a two-way mirror by psychologists. His daughter shouts at them through the window, “I love him, write that in your notes.”

Overall, the combination of humor and emotion made this movie excellent. I recommend everyone to go and see it.