Word: mumford
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...Mumford, writer/director/producer Lawrence Kasdan attempts to tell the tale of Doctor Mumford (Loren Dean) and the wide variety of patients and personas that he encounters through his small town practice. The dominant flaw of the film is Kasdan's unparalleled ability to get sidetracked. Perhaps he was distracted by episodes of America's Most Wanted, perhaps by cheesy soap operas, or maybe even by an episode of Judge Judy. The only word that sufficiently describes the plot of Mumford, and I'll I say it three times, is random, random, random...
...story-line peters along very slowly, chock full of pointless little twists of plot, until about an hour into the movie when, once again, a very random five minutes reveal several disturbing little aspects of the past of our hero, Dr. Mumford. It's a welcome surprise--in doing so, Kasdan finally provides the film with some conflict and direction. (At the same time, these five minutes also show that the overly drawn-out first half of the movie could have been condensed into ten minutes...
...compliment such a carefully conceived and intricate plot are several monotonous and lukewarm acting performances by Dean, Jason Lee, who plays an idiot billionaire, and Hope Davis, Dr. Mumford's patient turned love affair. The experience of watching the acting in Mumford can perhaps be compared to the first few days of the college experience. At the beginning, no one really stands out, and at the end, you can't remember anyone's name...
...staying with the aforementioned randomness theme, the two most accomplished actors of the crew, Ted Danson and Martin Short, appear briefly in quirky antagonistic roles; Danson as the self-centered, insensitive Jeremy Brockett and Short as attorney Lional Dillard, who is at the forefront of opposition to Doctor Mumford's questionable practice. On a more cheerful note, Short and Danson, in each of their shining five-minute cameos, provide glimpses of some much-needed comic relief...
...think the highlight of Mumford may have been a heartwarming scene near the end of the movie in which Dr. Mumford emotionally declares his love for Hope Davis's character. Amidst her tears and anger at him, she explodes with a heartfelt, "I kinda love you too!" It was emotional. Really...