Best movie ever!

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Therapist Micky Mumford (Loren Dean) is new in the town of Mumford. Lily (Alfre Woodard) runs the coffee shop. Mumford's unusual methods have garner a large following of clients although he's hiding secrets from his past. Shopaholic Althea Brockett (Mary McDonnell) is married to Jeremy (Ted Danson) with two teen kids (Jason Ritter, Elisabeth Moss). Nessa Watkins (Zooey Deschanel) is a flighty girl. Lionel Dillard (Martin Short) is the defense lawyer. Skip Skipperton (Jason Lee) is the town savior getting rich from modem manufacturing worth $3 billion who wants to pay Mumford for his friendship. Sofie Crisp (Hope Davis) is exhausted from her sickness.Loren Dean is not charismatic enough to take the lead. There are plenty of supporting roles that he could have taken in this vast town of characters. The lead needs star quality which he is severely lacking. Instead, he's a blank floating from one character to another. I'm not sure exactly what director/writer Lawrence Kasdan is trying to do. This has a bit of whimsy but nowhere near enough to be funny. It doesn't have enough edge to be interesting. At least, Loren Dean doesn't project edge. Luckily, the movie is filled with great actors but the most important role is filled by the lackluster Dean.

Read Roger Ebert's review on this little gem. Don't let the haters sway you. Suspend your disbelief at the door, and just let this one wash over you. I saw it tonight on The Movie Channel. Don't know how it slipped past me at the time, except "American Beauty" premiered around the same time.This is a "feel good" film in the best of ways. Some people said it's a forgettable work, but I disagree. For me, not that many films make my heart smile, and when that happens, it sticks.Lovely ensemble cast, and shot on location in exquisite Sonoma.A great date night rental, suitable to view with your teens (drug use and nudity-- but not gratuitously).Really, you could do much worse than this sweet, albeit minor film.

I've always caught this movie (on cable) in bits and pieces and never gave it too much thought or attention (I'm an action movie fan). The other day I hit it fairly close to the beginning and decided to stick with it - and pay attention (not that it requires a great deal of attention to figure out what's going on). What struck me throughout was the lack of any real "action" (it's very much a character-driven story) which forces you to focus on what is being said. And you can't help but come away with the realization that the dialogue is extremely honest and well written. When the end credits came up and said "written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan" I said to myself, "Well, now I know why." He's one of the best at dialogue. Kudos, Lawrence!

Now here is a different kind of story: a very low-key guy (Loren Dean) pretending to be a psychiatrist in a small town.Dean does a fabulous job of portraying the soft-spoken, easy-going "shrink" and is so likable that he makes the film enjoyable.There are a few spots that drag on too long, such as a few scenes with Hope Davis' character but the "patients" as a whole are certainly interesting and varied. This is another one of those films that got much press, and undeservedly-so because it's pretty entertaining with a good cast. In addition to the above, we see Alfre Woodard, Mary McDonnell, David Paymer, Martin Short and Ted Danson. If you are familiar with those actors, you'll know why a psychiatrist is needed!