Line #1 YMMV/IAmSam


1	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The entire soundtrack is covers of [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] songs, what did you expect? Special mention to Music/BenFolds' version of "Golden Slumbers" and Music/RufusWainwright's version of "Across The Universe." Both are pure SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel!
2	* CriticalDissonance: In spite of the critics being most unfavorable to it, the film actually has respectable audience ratings on sites like Rotten Tomatoes, [=IMDb=] and Website/{{Letterboxd}}.
3	* DiagnosedByTheAudience: While Sam's disability is never outright specified, his highly methodical thoughts and actions, narrow-minded obsession with Music/TheBeatles, occasional struggles with verbalizing his thoughts, apparent sarcasm-blindness, poor responses to stress, and displays of stimming when emotionally overwhelmed imply that he is meant to be severely autistic. However, his characterization plays up so many stereotypes of the disorder that it veers heavily into HollywoodAutism territory.
4	* {{Glurge}}: Many viewers felt that the movie was not only blatant OscarBait, but way too emotionally manipulative and {{anvilicious}} to truly work.
5	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: While many moments blend with {{Tearjerker}}, several parts are unconditionally sweet. A standout scene is where Sam figures out that Lucy has been hiding her reading ability from him. Lucy tells Sam she doesn't want to read if he can't read, but he says that he loves seeing her read and grow and that it makes him happy.
6	* ParodyDisplacement: Nowadays the only time someone ever brings up the film is in reference to being mentioned in ''Film/TropicThunder'' and ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether''. If people do watch it, it's likely to see what, at least according to ''Tropic Thunder'', makes this a failed example of InspirationallyDisadvantaged that contrasts more successful examples like ''Film/RainMan'' and ''Film/ForrestGump''.
7	* QuestionableCasting: The eponymous character, who is intellectually disabled and possibly [[HollywoodAutism on the autism spectrum]], is played by Creator/SeanPenn, who is neurotypical. As time moves on and sensibilities towards the portrayal and treatment of the developmentally disadvantaged become more nuanced, Penn taking the role in lieu of [[DisabledCharacterDisabledActor someone who actually is mentally disabled]] has been viewed as undermining the point of the film and its supposed sympathies. While the argument can and has been made that such casting can be excused on matters of practicality and production logistics, the fact the rest of the movie is seen as grade-A {{Glurge}} makes the decision underlined with exploitative connotations, most infamously with the likes of ''Film/TropicThunder'' using ''i am sam'' as the epitome of "using mental disability as OscarBait".
8	** Critics and audiences also found it in bad taste that Sam's circle of friends were all played by men who really were disabled in some fashion, meaning Penn has to pretend to be so right to their faces.
9	* StrawmanHasAPoint: More than a few critics and viewers couldn't help agreeing with the "bad guys" that, no matter how wonderful of a person Sam was, he wasn't capable of raising a child. Having said that, it's clear at the end that the foster family is still in the picture, even if Sam is legally the father. Presumably they help out with the various things that he can't handle by himself, but the movie didn't make that explicit.
10	-->'''Creator/RogerEbert:''' You can't have heroes and villains when the wrong side is making the best sense.
11	* ValuesDissonance: Terms such as "retarded" and "mentally disabled" are thrown around numerous times, including from Lucy's classmate Connor.
12	-->'''Conner:''' What's wrong with your father, why's he acting like a retard?
13	--> '''Lucy:''' He is.

Context YMMV / IAmSam