History Film / IAmSam

* DefrostingIcequeen: Rita, with Sam's help starting to emotionally reconnect with her son.

* TerribleIntervieweesMontage: Rita, testing Sam's retarded friends for court suitability. She has to drop that idea quickly.

* FlippingTheBird: Rita towards another driver when in traffic.

* TragicDream: Sam wants to be a good father, but he just isn't capable of raising his daughter alone.

* ParentalNeglect: Rita and her husband [[WhenYouComingHomeDad spend little time with their son]] because of their careers.

* WhenYouComingHomeDad: Rita and her husband are overworked and use to spend little quality time with their son who has become estranged.

* AnAesop: All you need is [[ThePowerOfLove love]].

* RoomFullOfCrazy: In a scene towards the end, Rita finds Sam holed up in his apartment where he has built a wall full of origami figures.

!!'This film provides examples of:

* DidTheyOrDidntThey: After Rita has her breakdown in Sam's apartment and both hug, we cut to the next day where both meet and act slightly embarresed. We don't learn if it was just because of Rita's meltdown or more.

* RoomFullOfCrazy: In a scene towards the end, Rita finds Sam holed up in his apartment where he has buildt a wall full of origami figures.

* TerribleIntervieweesMontage: Rita, testing Sam's retarded friends for court-suitability. She has to drop that idea quickly.

I Am Sam ([[AllLowercaseLetters stylized]] i am sam) is a 2001 American drama film written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Creator/SeanPenn as a father with a developmental disability, Creator/DakotaFanning as his inquisitive seven-year-old daughter and Creator/MichellePfeiffer as his lawyer.

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: In one of the court scenes, when Annie is on the stand, the otherlawyer brings up her father, and she stares at him for a long time and then breaks down and cries. We can only assume [[AbusiveParents the reason]].

* LyingFingerCross: Lucy, when making an oath before court.

* OpenSaysMe: When he doesn't answer her knocking, Rita kicks in the door to Sam's apartment.

* RoomOfCrazy: In a scene towards the end, Rita finds Sam holed up in his apartment where he has buildt a wall full of origami figures.

* ThreeMonthOldNewborn: The newborn baby is exactly that.

* VertigoEffect: In one of the courtroom scenes, after the lawyer drops his ArmorPiercingQuestion towards Annie, we see him go through this effect from the POV of Annie.
* WhenYouComingHomeDad: Rita and her husband are overworked and share little time with their son who has becomes estranged.

!!''I Am Sam'' contains examples of the following:

* ChildrenRaiseYou
* DumbIsGood
* InspirationallyDisadvantaged: Averted.

* WhiteAndGreyMorality: Sam is a mentally handicapped man who is just trying to be with his daughter while the government thinks [[StrawmanHasAPoint (and for good reason)]] that he wouldn't be unable to raise her properly.

* ManChild

* TimeShiftedActor: The younger version of Lucy is played by Dakota Fanning's younger sister Creator/ElleFanning.

* WhiteAndGreyMorality: Sam is a mentally handicapped man who is just trying to be with his daughter while the government thinks [[StrawmanHasAPoint (and for good reason)]] that he would be unable to raise her properly.

* DisabledCharacterDisabledActor: Creator/SeanPenn, of course, is not really developmentally disabled — but many of the actors who play his housemates ''are''.

* StarMakingRole: For a young Creator/DakotaFanning.

** That they start talking like him when they come to like him can be explained by the fact that this happens [[RealLife in real life.]] If you spend a lot of time around people that talk a certain way, then you start [[GotMeDoingIt acting and speaking like them.]] People who spend time in foreign countries develop a different accent or dialect, and people who spend time around someone who, say, says a certain word a lot or has a verbal tic will find themselves using the word or verbal tic.
* ShoutOut: When asked what his daughter means to him, Sam makes a heartfelt speech that the judge points out is from ''Film/KramerVsKramer''.

* TimeShiftedActor: The younger version of Lucy is played by Dakota Fanning's younger sister ElleFanning.

* WhiteAndGreyMorality: Part of why StrawmanHasAPoint, since people would obviously sympathize with Sam wanting to keep custody of his daughter, but simultaneously see why it might be healthier for her to be removed from his (primary) care.

!!This movie provides examples of the following tropes:

Lucy turns out to be very bright, but after a while she realizes the gulf between her own intelligence and her father's, and she even starts to [[ObfusciatingStupidity act dumb]] - pretending that she can't read, and so on. When he calls her on this, she confesses that she never wants to be smarter than he is. She's six years old at the time.

->'''Rita''': ''"I just don't know what to call you: retarded, mentally retarded, mentally handicapped, mentally disabled, intellectually handicapped, intellectually disabled, developementally disabled..."''

Lucy turns out to be very bright, but after a while she realizes the gulf between her own intelligence and her father's, and she even starts to act dumb - pretending that she can't read, and so on. When he calls her on this, she confesses that she never wants to be smarter than he is. She's six years old at the time.

* StarMakingRole: For a young DakotaFanning.

* ShoutOut: When asked what his daughter means to him, Sam makes a heartfelt speech that the judge points out is from ''KramerVsKramer''.

* TimeShiftedActor: The younger version of Lucy is played by Dakota Fanning's younger sister Elle.

Has nothing to do with ''Literature/GreenEggsAndHam'' Although the book in fact was used as a minor plot point in the film - Sam reads it every night to Lucy at bed.

The court case goes through, and eventually the verdict is: [[spoiler: Sam can raise Lucy, assuming he gets help from the various resources he's proven he's capable of seeking out, to ensure that his daughter is not without proper education.]]

Has nothing to do with ''Literature/GreenEggsAndHam'' [[spoiler: Although the book in fact was used as a minor plot point in the film - Sam reads it every night to Lucy at bed]].

** That they start talking like him when they come to like him can be explained by the fact that this happens [[RealLife in real life.]] [[GotMeDoingIt If you spend a lot of time around people that talk a certain way, then you start acting and speaking like them. People who spend time in foreign countries develop a different accent or dialect, and people who spend time around someone who, say, says a certain word a lot or has a verbal tic will find themselves using the word or verbal tic.]]