TCP#25: I Am Sam

Hello to my dearest Couchers and welcome to the February 9th edition of Tuesday Couch Potatoes, where we post about a movie each week. This day also marks the 25th theme of this TCP! Wow, I can't believe that it has reached this far and I owe it to all of you who never tire of joining us each and every Tuesday. This week's theme is For the LOVE of Children/Kids. You may talk about movies depicting parent's love for their children, or parental sacrifice for their children in any genre. If you are a bit confused, think Step asmom, Tanging Ina, Lorenzo's Oil, Simon Birch, even Patch Adams to name a few...

Last week, we went gaga over our Favorite Love Story movies. A Walk To Remember seemed to be a favorite but there are other love stories worth mentioning. Here's Jona's pick: The Rebound for instance.

And here's my pick for this week's theme: I Am Sam. This is a 2001 American drama motion picture starring Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer and Dakota Fanning. It's the story of Sam, a mentally challenged father who has the intelligence of a seven-year old and is the sole guardian to her six-year old daughter Lucy. He is limited but is able to give Lucy the loving environment that the child needs. However, as Lucy grows, she soon surpassed the mental ability of her father. She would even intentionally act stupid just so she wouldn't appear smarter than her father. And you know how it is in real life if you have a parent who has a disability: other children are bound to bully you and tease you for having a "retard" parent. That alone is a huge challenge for a little girl. The question then arises as to who must have custody of the child.

So on her 7th birthday, Lucy was taken away by a social worker and lived in a foster home. Sam was allowed two supervised visits per week. Luckily, Sam has a wonderful support group who helped him in making his next moves. He then approaches Rita Harrison, a high-priced, cold and unfeeling lawyer to handle his case. In an attempt to prove to her that she is not heartless, she surprisingly agreed to take on Sam's case pro bono (for free) and in the process, learned a thing or two about love. She even managed to have her difficult life straightened.

The highlight of the movie for me was when the court questioned Sam's ability as a father and he broke down in front of the court. I feel for him because taking your child away from you is just like being robbed of your right to breath and to live. It was a happy ending though because the family who planned to adopt Lucy decided to return her to him in the arrangement that Randy (the social worker) will help him raise her.

This movie is one example that indeed LOVE is all you need!

Got a tear-jerking and moving movie to share with us? Then join us now and enter your TCP link to the MckLinky below:



Oh, before I forget, my DVD give-away is till up! Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a DVD of your choice.


Thank you all for joining us this week on TCP. Next week, we will feature movies with the theme: For The LOVE of Nature. Until then Couchers, Happy TCP!

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