Mumford

I just finished watching Mumford for the second time, and enjoyed it just as much this time around as I did when I first saw it two years ago. There is so much that is wholesome, humorous, and down-to-earth about this movie. The story revolves around a man with a gift for listening to others share their most intimate secrets. He arrives in the town of Mumford, sets up shop in a modest office, and begins the practice of listening to people's problems, gaining a reputation for being an effective listener among the good citizens of Mumford. Much of the story follows multiple, intertwining threads of lives lived, intimate secrets revealed, and romances started, all because of one man's ability to listen. On a repeat viewing of the movie, many scenes clicked for me that I didn't understand or appreciate the first time I watched it. Mumford is truly delightful and will appeal to those who know the meaning of "live and let live" and who believe in getting (and giving others) a second chance in life. The ending was absolute perfection - a total delight and incredibly refreshing.

Being a long time admirer of Lawrence Kasdan's work (The Big Chill, Accidental Tourist, Grand Canyon), I was not surprised by the way this film swept me gracefully along in its gentle, intelligent way. This is a film that has more in common with a symphony than with a novel. How rare to find an American film these days that is so totally lacking in violence and melodrama while displaying such heart and humanity. What I love about Kasdan is the respect and compassion he shows for his characters, foibles and all. As the song goes, "If anyone should ever write my life story........", I want Lawrence Kasdan to make the film of my life! See this movie.

The trailer touts this as the best comedy of the year. A comedy it is not. I thrice found myself smiling heartily. MUMFORD is both the leading character and the name of the town the story takes place it. MUMFORD the character is a man sort of like THE GREAT IMPOSTER, a film that Tony Curtis starred in back in the 60's. Like the Curtis character, he discovers during his stay at a monastery that he wants to have a new life, so he invents one. The update is that drugs have driven him to seek asylum with the good padres in the desert. While getting clean and sober he realizes that he is a good listener, so naturally he decides that he would make a wonderful therapist. His training as an IRS agent, the life he left for drugs, shows him how to create the person known as Mumford, including all of the phony credentials that he needs to pass as a doctor. When he looks on a map and sees the town of Mumford, somewhere in idyllic, pastoral, America, we are never sure just where, he thinks "that's an omen, that's the place where I belong." The odd thing is, he does help people. All of the folks he treats, get better from his listening and applying his very down to earth logical approach. The performances by a rather star studded cast are wonderful, but the screenplay and the direction are just so slow moving you want to die. If it were REALLY the best comedy of the year I would have been laughing and that might have kept me interested in this guy, but as it turned out I didn't give a damn. It reminded me of COOKIE'S FORTUNE out earlier this year. I admired the cast greatly, but the screenplay and the direction were so boring that you couldn't care enough to stay awake. Its not that MUMFORD is bad, its just DULL. My advice rent THE GREAT IMPOSTER for $1.99 in the classic aisle and save the 7 bucks on MUMFORD.

Mumford was a nice surprise to watch - I didn't know anything about it so had no expectations. However I am surprised that it didn't even get a release in the cinema in the UK - it certainly deserved it. The film manages to combine believable characters, a little suspense, some humour and romance. In fact it manages to get away from the usual Hollywood schmaltz whilst being true to the characters. Definitely worth checking out as it has a lot going for it.

"Mumford" is an unpretentious little romantic comedy with a softspoken, creative way of whetting curiosity and maintaining interest as it wends it's way through it's quirky but charming storyline. Sans the usual commercial "chick flick" schmaltz and boasting an R-rating, "Mumford" appears to refuse to compromise its freshness. A pleasant way to wile away 110 minutes.

source: Mumford

Dr. Mickey Mumford (Loren Dean) is a psychologist who ironically lives and works in the town of Mumford. Among his clientele are local chemist Henry Follett (Pruitt Taylor Vince) whose tasteful sexual fantasies have ruined his marriage, image-obsessed teen Nessa Watkins (Zooey Deschanel), kleptomaniac house-wife Althea Brockett (Mary McDonnell) and lonely billionaire Skip Skipperton (Jason Lee), whose electronics business keeps the town afloat. Mickey Mumford and his highly unorthodox techniques are extremely successful, but things begin to change and get complicated when he takes Sofie Crisp (Hope Davis) on board as a client and falls in love with her, while trying to cure her sleep deprivation. 'Mumford', written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan (The Bodyguard, The Big Chill) is a surprisingly great film. Really, this is just a very well-told story. Dr. Mumford's curious cases pull the film along, but those fragmented stories really wouldn't have been enough for 99 minutes… so when the film's big twist comes mid-way, it's a smooth transition from examining Mumford's patients and their crises to watching the problems of the doctor himself, and the way's he tries to deal with them. Loren Dean, while not the typically charismatic protagonist, is oddly interesting as the humble and odd psychologist; and really does communicate a very relaxed persona, making it easy to see why people feel the need to confide in him. Zooey Deschanel is a great little secondary character, totally at ease and entertaining in her role as the off-beat misfit. My one complaint may be that the love story between Dr. Mumford and his patient Sofie isn't executed very well; there really isn't enough screen time given to the development of their budding feelings, and in fact most of their realizations about their feelings for one another come either off-screen or are explored individually, like when Dr. Mumford talks about his feelings for Sofie with patient and friend Skip Skipperton. Furthermore, there isn't much chemistry between Loren Dean and Hope Davis. Between Davis's sleep-deprived, baggy-eyed divorcée, Sofie and Dean's stony-calm Dr. Mumford; the romance is lackluster, at best. The film is only 99 minutes long, and I wish it was longer with more emphasis and development on the Dean/Davis romance. I really enjoyed this film and was very glad I found it while looking through Zooey Deschanel's filmography. It's just a shame not more people know about it.

Lawrence Kasdan's "Mumford" is a film that could have been done by Frank Capra in another time. Mr. Kasdan created an enigmatic man, Dr. Mickey Mumford, who appears in the small town out of nowhere. He quickly goes to become an indispensable person in the community with his no-nonsense approach to psychiatry. Mumford touches the lives of the people that come to him seeking his advice. Among the people he helps, there is Sofie Crisp, a young woman suffering from depression and some sort of fatigue syndrome that renders her unfit to live her life to the fullest. With Mumford's help, she begins her daily walks as she gains confidence and opens up to see what is out there. The film opens with a black and white sequence that is a fantasy being played in the mind of Henry. We realize it's only his mind wandering as he is not capable of doing what he dreams about. There is also the young millionaire who is one of the richest men in the country because his firm produces modems for computers and who doesn't care to show his eccentric side for all to see. Mumford's cover is finally revealed when an episode of the television program "Unsolved Mysteries" in which he is showcased. The town of Mumford, instead of condemning him, rallies in its support of a man that has done more in his humble way to help the community in spite of his deceit. "Mumford" is a delightful movie thanks to Loren Dean, who plays the title role. Mr. Dean does a wonderful work. Hope Davis is also a charming presence in the picture. The large supporting cast has some brilliant faces in it, Alfre Woodard, Jason Lee, Mary McDonnell, Pruitt Taylor Vance, Martin Short, Jane Adams, David Paymer, and Ted Danson, among them. The film's success belongs to Lawrence Kasdan whose brilliant take on a man who is a fake, but who has seen into the hearts of the people he has decided to settle in.

If you feel that the last time you saw your shrink was so funny and such a nice experience then you should definitely go and see Mumford. It's actually a two hour therapy session where you see one patient after the other being treated. So if you have fun watching other people's therapy sessions this is your film, otherwise you will be bored to death.

This is a just a plain old feel-good movie with lots of texture to it. The characters are believable and touched me deeply - I felt like I would like to know them for another few movies. One I could watch over and over if I watched the tube that much (which I don't). Agreat one for young teens as well.