I Am Sam poster

I Am Sam (2001)

Film · 2h 12m · Rated PG-13

Drama

A neurodivergent father fights to retain custody of his beloved daughter, teaching his lawyer about love.

Earnest and melancholy. A comfort watch at a measured pace. Emotionally it is devastating.

Streaming on The Roku Channel (free), Plex (free) and Tubi (free).

I Am Sam parents guide

It stays inside its PG-13, with no sex or nudity and mild language.

Rated PG-13, but by what is on screen our estimate is fine from about 7.

Scare
Not scary
Jump scares
None noted
Gore
No gore
Violence
No real violence
Sex and nudity
None noted
Language
Mild
Mild words like damn, hell or crap.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

What is I Am Sam about?

Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become a problem and the authorities take her away. Sam convinces high-priced lawyer Rita to take his case pro bono and in turn teaches her the value of love and family.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

Bittersweet. It earns its ending, but not everyone gets what they want.

Cast and crew

Directed byJessie Nelson
StarringSean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianne Wiest, Dakota Fanning, Richard Schiff, Loretta Devine

More like I Am Sam

I Am Sam is on our Courtroom, Drama on Tubi, The Roku Channel and Drama on The Roku Channel lists.

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Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

Lists with the same feel: Tearjerkers and Comfort watches.

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.