A lot of people think that that this is a terrific movie, to a large extent because of Sean Penn playing a mentally disabled Starbucks clerk. His portrayal of this single father with a seven year old daughter was apparently so convincing that he received an Academy Award nomination. If you are one of those who think Penn was stunning in this movie, let me ask you: do you remember Sam's friends, the four gentlemen Mr. Grumpy, Mr. Wise, Mr. Goggles and Mr. Smiley, also mentally disabled? In the scenes with Sam and his friends it is obvious that Penn is only acting. Maybe they are, maybe they are not disabled in real life but my point here is that Penn is trying so hard, yes, overacting, it's almost as if he's gonna split his pants or something. If the friends are actors too, their acting disabled flows smoothly and natural unlike Penn's.
As far as playing a mentally disabled person, Penn don't hold a candle compared to Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man (1988) or Leonardo diCaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993).
This is also a movie about a custody battle. Kramer vs Kramer (father fighting for custody) is still the ultimate custody battle movie followed by Hollow Reed (gay father fighting for custody). Oddly enough, when the movie ended I still wasn't convinced that Sam having custody of his daughter was the best solution...
As far as playing a mentally disabled person, Penn don't hold a candle compared to Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man (1988) or Leonardo diCaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993).
This is also a movie about a custody battle. Kramer vs Kramer (father fighting for custody) is still the ultimate custody battle movie followed by Hollow Reed (gay father fighting for custody). Oddly enough, when the movie ended I still wasn't convinced that Sam having custody of his daughter was the best solution...