Love Heals in Mumford
Kasdan's Grand Canyon Lite

Doc Mumford (Loren Dean) is a small-town psychologist who, in his short four months there, has become one of the most well-liked and respected men in the town. Of course, it helps that there are enough problems in this town to fill an abnormal psychology text book. The charm of the movie, Mumford, lies not in the secrets the people keep, but in the love they all share.

Writer/Director Lawrence Kasdan is treading familiar ground in Mumford. The feel, the angst, (even some of the actors!) are taken from his fabulous 1991 film Grand Canyon. Unlike the earlier work (which dealt with real issues surrounding race relations and violence), Mumford is set in an almost idyllic small town where the worst problems are personal issues of self-esteem.

But Mumford is engaging in its own way. The story centers around Doc, a smart, sensitive, relative newcomer to the town of Mumford (yes, Doc and the town share the same name). While he isn't exactly unorthodox (there's certainly no Patch Adams à la Robin Williams here), he isn't afraid to tell his patients to stop talking or even to refuse clients. He even has a penchant for discussing his clients with his patient/friend Skip Skipperton (Jason Lee).

The ensemble cast that visits Doc range from Skip, a young billionaire whose high-tech company is the lifeblood of the town, to Althea, a mother of two with a shopping addiction. Doc becomes torn, however, when he finds himself falling for one of his patients, Sofie (Hope Davis), a young woman suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Dean is great as Doc, with an understated humor that reminded me of an optimistic Charles Grodin. His character is multi-faceted, but it isn't until later in the story that his layers start revealing themselves. Alfre Woodard does a wonderful turn as Doc's neighbor Lily. Her small supporting role offers a sounding board to Doc, who has no where to turn with his own problems.

Despite its great cast and humorous twists, Mumford ultimately relies on love to resolve every plot complication. Like in Grand Canyon, Kasdan seems to be under the impression that love conquers all, and the best way to bring conclusion to a story is to pair off the players so they can all live happily ever after.

I have nothing against happy endings, but it compromises credibility when everything turns out well. Mumford seems not to be a story about the real world as an allegory about the human heart. It's not a bad story, but it appears to be a simplified solution to a complicated problem.

MY RATING: 5 out of 10.

RATED: R
RUN TIME: 96 min.