From Academy Award(R)-nominated writer/director Lawrence Kasdan
(BODY HEAT, THE BIG CHILL) comes this endearing romantic comedy.
Starring a first-rate ensemble cast -- including Ted Danson
(SAVING PRIVATE RYAN), Martin Short (HER OF THE BRIDE), Mary
McDonnell (INDEPENDENCE DAY), Jason Lee (DOGMA), and Alfre
Woodard (DOWN IN THE DELTA) -- MUMFORD is sure to win your heart
with its charm and wit. When a would-be psychologist, curiously
named Dr. Mumford (Loren Dean, ENEMY OF THE STATE), comes to the
idyllic town of the same name and offers his talent for listening
and a disarming frankness, the town's quirkiest citizens scramble
for a seat on his couch. As he lightens hearts darkened by old
secrets -- including those of the beautiful and troubled Sofie
Crisp (Hope Davis, ARLINGTON ROAD) -- no one realizes he's hiding
a whopper of his own, or that he's fallen head over heels for one
of his patients! Filled with personality disorders, surprises,
offbeat alliances, and some hilarious fantasies, MUMFORD is just
what the laugh doctor ordered.
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Loren Dean, a pleasant, attractive actor who seems to
fall seamlessly into the background of every film he's in
(Gattaca, Enemy of the State, Apollo 13), is perfectly cast in
Mumford as a psychologist (named Mumford) who wanders into a
small town (named Mumford) and suddenly fits seamlessly into
everybody's rhythms and routines. Balancing a no-nonsense
approach with a keen ability to listen sincerely to everyone's
problems (with the exception of a snotty lawyer, played by Martin
Short), he's a friendly, approachable blank slate for all those
who come to visit him. And while he's tending to the shopaholic
housewife (Mary McDonnell), the pulp-fantasizing cist
(Pruitt Taylor Vince), and the anorexic teenager (Zooey
Deschanel), no one seems to give a second thought to who the man
is behind the therapeutic face, not even his slightly sardonic
neighbor (Alfre Woodard). It's not until he befriends a sweetly
daft computer billionaire (Jason Lee) and starts treating a
chronically igued young woman (Hope Davis) that his past--or
rather, lack of one--starts coming into play, for it turns out
that Mumford is not exactly who he says he is.
Less a mystery than an affectionate, perfectly modulated
character study, Mumford easily represents writer-director
Lawrence Kasdan's best work in a decade. While the plot seems
whimsically Capra-esque and the dialogue sometimes stilted, it's
so carefully and quietly directed that its good will and gentle
spirit seem to float lightly off the screen. Kasdan hasn't
created such engaging characters since The Big Chill, and all are
winning without seeming artificial. Most amazing is Davis, who
manages to invest a woman suffering from chronic igue syndrome
with an inner glow that slowly becomes brighter as the film
progresses. And Dean, as the enigmatic Mumford, may have finally
found his breakthrough role; after years as an also-ran, he
finally emerges as a solid, charming leading man. After Mumford,
you won't forget his name, or face. --Mark Englehart