Pluskylang Great Film overall

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

dillont-707-745315 This, like Hope Springs (the one with Colin Firth) came bundled in a pack with Green Card. Hope Springs was a stupid movie and so is this one. It is a waste of time to watch. The main character, Mumford, has moved to Mumford and is a psychiatrist. People are coming to him with their problems. Come to find out...he's not a psychiatrist. He is a former IRS employee who had a drug problem. The main character is bland and you cannot figure out why his patients are not really upset with him when they find out he is lying. Even his girlfriend just kind of goes "well...ok." Also, you find out the backstory pretty early on when he tells it to one of his patients/friends who happens to be very rich and is building robotic sex girls. It's just ridiculous.

jonnyss this is a wonderful movie with some great lessons about what good psychotherapy can look like. (i am a psychiatrist, and i teach psychotherapy to psychology and psychiatry trainees).OK, he's learning on the job, so he makes a few mistakes here and there (e.g. confidentiality). but he is intuitive, kind, caring, present, and natural - in contrast with the psychiatrist and the other psychologist in town, both of whom are stylized in the all-too-common "therapist" way).if he worked in my town, i'd refer patients to him. if your therapist feels and sounds like the psychiatrist in the film, go find a mumford.oh, and the film is fun, entertaining, hopeful - yet not all fun and games; there's a bit of a dark side.

mathmaniac I watched 'Mumford' again recently. It has been years since the last viewing. It has held up very well; it is still a good movie. All of the criticisms about it in comments have been well-founded. It is slow-paced and even-paced. That is both good and bad. There was a preview for 'Gone in 60 Seconds' on the video tape that showed a frantic-paced movie that probably did better at the box office but I will bet was not as well written or as well-acted (Angelina Jolie is in 'Gone...', need I say more about the acting quality?) Pace may get your adrenaline flowing while your sitting in your seat but it doesn't do anything for your brain cells. Mumford engages you intellectually.It is challenging to the viewer to believe that a billionaire computer mogul - skateboarder can practically own a town and move about as freely and anonymously as he does in this movie. Jason Lee is just the person to have that role, though. He portrays the eternal adolescent in a lot of movies (it would be difficult to watch him play an assassin or a pederast; he picks the roles that he can handle and as a reward, he now anchors a very successful sitcom).The pace and some credibility issues aside, this movie is a pleasure to watch. Everything about the movie shares a harmony with its subject which is basically psychology. I read somewhere that Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) on the Sopranos was recommended to psychiatrists-in-training as the model for a focused listener, which is what a shrink is. Mickey Mumford (Loren Dean) is right up there with her as an exemplary professional when it comes to listening. In contrast, Dr. Melfi is even a little too tense and rigid (in keeping with her character, to Lorraine Bracco's credit as a fine actress). Mumford is simultaneously relaxed and alert; really, I could watch him sit still forever and be endlessly fascinated by the blink of his eyes (there is a scene where he acknowledges the sexiness of his young patient Nessa with the faintest of smiles and a slow blink; an absolutely stunning expression with almost no movement in his body language). I think I developed quite a crush on Loren Dean just watching him sit across from his patients. Because the character Mumford is so brilliant, he can be forgiven his few lapses in professionalism. When we first see Mary McDowell come into his office, he has just told Martin Short to leave his office and never come back. He is calm about it but he insists that he doesn't want to see him in his office again and Mary McDowell is witness to that speech. As he brings her into the office, he comments about Martin Short, 'Jeez, what an asshole!' and Mary McDowell laughs delightedly as we watch her back while she heads towards the couch. When he discusses his patients' problems with Jason Lee, making Lee feel uncomfortable, you sense that he's sharing his patients' dilemmas sympathetically, not revealing their weaknesses. If others don't see it that way, it is not his concern; he relates to people on a plane that doesn't share space with legal, professional ethics.Which is all the more surprising when you find out later in the movie about his background story.Every character (with Lily being the only possible exception) has a psychological profile that fits the story's needs and rings true. The underlying message might be, 'Everyone has problems; even your shrink has problems!' The movie never veers from that message. The feel-good addendum to that is: 'And by sharing and exploring your problems, you can have a better life.' That is true about every single character.The way that Loren Dean sits in a chair, the way he listens, the intense but relaxed attitude he has while absorbing all the details of his clients - is inspiring. He has feelings, you never lose track of that fact, evidenced by his choice to suddenly shout at a patient when he thinks the patient's self-deception is so egregious that someone SHOULD shout at him.Lawrence Kasdan made a wonderful little film; much much better than any of his others (Grand Canyon and The Big Chill aren't half as nice).

oceanave I was appalled when I saw that this movie had a budget of 28 million, yet it only did 4.5 at the box office. A shame. Kasdan cast the movie (almost) perfectly and everything else was superb as well. Super-original storyline, about people starting over again; photographed beautifully, and dead-on direction. Loren Dean is not a well-known actor, but he should be...and he should get more work than he gets. His performance is flawless, although at times it seems that he lacks energy...but maybe that was the way Kasdan wrote the character. Jason Lee is at his usual best...just listening to that guy talk, I realize how perfect his diction is. He makes the most out of the funny dialogue. Alfre Woodard plays the town cafe owner, Lily -jeez, I wish *I* had a neighbor like her! A young Zooey Deschanel does great as the town's bad high school girl who Mumford sees "pro bono" (or as she says, "pro boner?") If there is any weakness to "Mumford," I'd have to say it comes from Hope Davis. Her early scenes with Loren Dean are good and convincing, but as the story progresses, it all just seems to slip. By the end, it's as if she's really forcing the dialogue badly. Martin Short, Dave Paymer, and the supporting cast are great (including Ted Danson playing a rich idiot and Jason Ritter playing the stepson who hates him). Dana Ivey, playing Hope Davis' mother, is so rotten you can almost smell her! At a slightly long running time of 1 hour and 46 minutes, the audience definitely gets the entire picture of life in Mumford. Seems like a great little town.