“I am Sam” is a hard film to watch. Not because it deals with a mentally challenged man who is struggling to keep a job and hold on to his daughter as the authorities threaten to take her away from him. No, no. it is hard to watch because while watching it you keep hoping for something new or interesting or thought-provoking to happen. You wait for Michelle Pfeiffer’s everyday busy lawyer persona to make you feel something for the film. You long for Sean Penn’s elaborate portrayal of a grown up with the mind of a 7-year old to make you feel sad or hell – anything for that matter. You wish Sam’s daughter Lucy played by Dakota Fanning (who else?) will make you cringe in your skin as you deal with her terrible situation.

Nothing happens. You know from the opening shot how every sequence after that is going to pan out. However, you are hoping that something mean or unpredictable might happen which would make it worth your time. No sir. A brief stint by Richard Schiff as a lawyer hell-bent on saving Lucy from the supposedly incapable Sam is the only section of the film that you can stand.

At the end of the film, Pfieffer’s lawyer says to Sam that she may have gained more from the relationship than Sam has. Of course you were expecting her to say that from the title of the film itself. But when she says it you feel so grossly cheated by the film’s 2 hour encroachment on your time that you want to go to your TV screen and just slap her silly. Yes, you gained more from Sam than he did because he is incapable of gaining as he has been laid out by the director Jessie Nelson (‘Corina, Corina’ – should have known!) and what about us the audience? We gained nothing. You may be Sam but we are no retards.