Cheap Mumford (DVD) (Loren Dean, Hope Davis, Jason Lee) (Lawrence Kasdan) Price

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Customer Reviews of Mumford

Writer/Director Lawrence Kasdan is treading familiar ground in Mumford. The feel, the angst, (even some of the actors!) are taken from his fabulous 1991 film Grand Canyon. Unlike the earlier work (which dealt with real issues surrounding race relations and violence), Mumford is set in an almost idyllic small town where the worst problems are personal issues of self-esteem.

But Mumford is engaging in its own way. The story centers around Doc, a smart, sensitive, relative newcomer to the town of Mumford (yes, Doc and the town share the same name). While he isn't exactly unorthodox, he isn't afraid to tell his patients to stop talking or even to refuse clients. He even has a penchant for discussing his clients with his patient/friend Skip Skipperton (Jason Lee, Chasing Amy).

The ensemble cast that visits Doc range from Skip, a young billionaire whose high-tech company is the lifeblood of the town, to Althea, a mother of two with a shopping addiction. Doc becomes torn, however, when he finds himself falling for one of his patients, Sofie (Hope Davis, Next Stop, Wonderland), a young woman suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Dean is great as Doc, with an understated humor that reminded me of an optimistic Charles Grodin. His character is multi-faceted, but it isn't until later in the story that his layers start revealing themselves. Alfre Woodard (Star Trek: First Contact) does a wonderful turn as Doc's neighbor Lily. Her small supporting role offers a sounding board to Doc, who has no where to turn with his own problems.

Despite its great cast and humorous twists, Mumford ultimately relies on love to resolve every plot complication. Like in Grand Canyon, Kasdan seems to be under the impression that love conquers all, and the best way to bring conclusion to a story is to pair off the players so they can all live happily ever after.

I have nothing against happy endings, but it compromises credibility when everything turns out well. Mumford seems not to be a story about the real world as an allegory about the human heart. It's not a bad story, but it appears to be a simplified solution to a complicated problem.

A charming movie about a small town and a big heart
'Mumford' is one of those movies that just sort of pops out at you. You never expected to see it, but one day you're at the video store, and BOOM! There's a wonderful movie just sitting there that everyone is missing out on. I've seen 'Mumford' maybe three times. And every time I wait to see the long loads of characters as they tell Doc Mumford their problems and you watch as they change. Everyone chages. The reason this movie is so entertaining, is because 1) Doc Mumford is a handsome, compassionate man with a deep secret. 2) There are tons of characters and each one of their stories is interesting. 3) This is the kind of film that makes you love living in small-town America. And writing in a little love story does the movie some good too! But even if the movie hadn't had the little love story, I would still enjoy it anyway, because it's such a funny and heartfelt movie, that you always find some reason to laugh or ever cry! And even if this review doesn't make you want to see it, read the others and see it anyway! Because it's too good of a movie to miss out on.

dull and insulting
Mumford is a film about a "psychologist" who lives in a small idyllic town, and deals with his patients in a way that seems to annoy them but keeps them coming back. Could it be that Loren Dean happens to look like a model? He also has the charm and acting abilities of a model, which is to say none.

Hope Davis steals the show here, although what she was doing in this film is beyond explanation.

The film does not let the viewer get deep inside any of the characters, certainly what should be paramount in a film that deals with human nature, love, and anxiety. Instead we are offered a script that is so obvious I imagined a five year old with a crayon scribbling it down during recess before submitting it to the studio.

Before you settle down with this film expecting a cozy little vignette about relationships be warned, it is chock full of unnecessary swearing and breast flashing. The review I read likened it to a Frank Capra film; well, you're much better off with the real thing.