BOOK A THERAPY SESSION WITH KASDAN'S `MUMFORD'.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic Filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan loves a good conversation. ``The Big Chill,'' ``Grand Canyon'' and even ``Wyatt Earp'' featured characters who spent a lot of time talking without ever saying much. Now comes ``Mumford,'' an inoffensive little comedy about a small-town psychologist who listens - and listens - as a parade of eccentrics spill their guts about their various foibles and follies. It's all agreeable enough without ever being exciting or, at times, even interesting. The movie and its Capra-esque townsfolk are so polite, in fact, as to call to mind the nice, bland, black-and-white world of ``Pleasantville'' and Tobey Maguire's on-screen on·screen or on-screen adj. & adv. 1. As shown on a movie, television, or display screen. 2. Within public view; in public. lament: Pleasant is OK. But it can't hold a candle to actual stimulation. Loren Dean This biographical article or section needs additional references for verification. Please help [ to improve this article] by adding additional sources. Unverifiable material about living persons must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. plays Mumford, an empathetic em·pa·thet·ic adj. Empathic. em  pa·thet i·cal·ly adv. young psychologist who
happens to share his name with the town where he practices. Although he
just hung his shingle four months ago, the clean-cut Mumford already has
more patients than the burg's other two shrinks combined. His
secret: He's actually interested in his patients' problems.
Among his cases: a beautiful sad sack Sad Sack who can’t do anything right. [Comics: “The Sad Sack” in Horn, 595–596] See : Ineptitude Sad Sack hapless and helpless soldier; resigned to his fate. , Sofie (Hope Davis), who thinks she has chronic fatigue syndrome chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), collection of persistent, debilitating symptoms, the most notable of which is severe, lasting fatigue. In other countries it is known variously as myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, and ; a lonely shopaholic shop·a·hol·ic n. A person who shops compulsively or very frequently. Noun 1. shopaholic - a compulsive shopper; "shopaholics can never resist a bargain" (Mary McDonnell) stuck in a loveless marriage with a self-important investment banker Investment Banker A person representing a financial institution that is in the business of raising capital for corporations and municipalities. Notes: An investment banker may not accept deposits or make commercial loans. (Ted Danson This biographical article or section needs additional references for verification. Please help [ to improve this article] by adding additional sources. Unverifiable material about living persons must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. ); an image-conscious teen-ager (Zooey Deschanel) hooked on fashion magazines; and the town's skateboard-riding, high-tech billionaire, Skip Skipperton (Jason Lee), a man in need of a friend, not to mention a soulmate soulmate n → compañero/a del alma . Everyone in town seems to have a secret, although (to borrow a line from Doc Mumford) these mysteries rate a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. It's Mumford who has the biggest secret, one that Kasdan (who wrote and directed the movie) hints at with a generous sprinkling of clues. Since most of the indicators are pretty obvious, put Mumford's secret at about a 3. Kasdan, who himself had a cameo as a psychologist in ``As Good As It Gets,'' directs in an undeviating, low-key manner with most of the film featuring two characters (usually the doctor and a patient) talking. These exchanges hammer home the movie's central conceit: People need to unburden themselves in order to understand themselves. And to do so, they don't need expert help, just someone who will patiently listen. If you like to listen - and have a fair amount of patience - ``Mumford'' and its message might just connect with you. The facts The film: ``Mumford'' (R; nudity, language and drug content). The stars: Loren Dean, Hope Davis, Jason Lee, Mary McDonnell, Ted Danson, Alfre Woodard, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Martin Short. Behind the scenes: Written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan. Released by Touchstone Pictures. Running time: One hour, 51 minutes. Playing: Citywide. Our rating: Two and one half stars CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Psychologist Loren Dean hangs out his shingle and dispenses advice to Hope Davis in ``Mumford.'' |
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