Mumford
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Mumford
Plot
Lawrence Kasdan wrote and directed this comedy about a young psychologist named Mumford (Loren Dean), who arrives in a small town and sets up a practice. Mumford's style is short on analytic mumbo-jumbo and long on practical advice, and he soon finds that he has a long list of satisfied clients in his new home town, including many of the city's most prominent citizens. Mumford's advice also helps love bloom among the city's single residents. However, the city already had a psychologist, Ernest Delbanco (David Paymer), who is quickly losing business to Mumford. So Ernest starts asking questions: who is this Mumford, and just what are his qualifications? Mumford's supporting cast includes Ted Danson, Martin Short, Alfre Woodard, Hope Davis, Jason Lee, and Pruitt Taylor Vince. ~ Mark Deming, RoviReview
There's one almost every year, a terrific film that deserves to be at least a minor-league hit but passes unnoticed by the audience, unloved by the critics, and undersold by the studio. Such a picture is this likable small town comedy from writer/director Lawrence Kasdan. Loren Dean is just one of the diverse, well-chosen actors here, each of whom is perfect for his or her role, the sort of cast that only a highly intelligent filmmaker would assemble, the unifying factors between them being skill and a likeable quality. A number of oddball curves are thrown by Kasdan's loopy narrative but viewers are in the hands of an accomplished storyteller here, and every plot thread pays off or comes full circle by the end. Even the wildest confabulations of the plot (the most incredible one coming courtesy of Robert Stack and the TV show Unsolved Mysteries) don't bend the mind too much out of whack here, thanks to a consistency of mood and style that is the hallmark of a reliable filmmaker. Like any artist who's been around for a while, he's had well-deserved hits and misses, but Mumford (1999) goes down as Lawrence Kasdan's most unfairly ignored effort to date. ~ Karl Williams, RoviCast
- Loren Dean - Mumford
- Hope Davis - Sofie Crisp
- Jason Lee - Skip Skipperton
- Alfre Woodard - Lily
- Mary McDonnell - Althea Brockett
Credit
Steven W. Graham - Art Director, Jennifer Shull - Casting, Jon Hutman - Co-producer, Stephen P. Dunn - Co-producer, Linda Goldstein-Knowlton - Co-producer, Colleen Atwood - Costume Designer, Stephen P. Dunn - First Assistant Director, Lawrence Kasdan - Director, Carol Littleton - Editor, William Steinkamp - Editor, James Newton Howard - Composer (Music Score), Jon Hutman - Production Designer, Ericson Core - Cinematographer, Lawrence Kasdan - Producer, Charles Okun - Producer, Beth A. Rubino - Set Designer, Dawn Swiderski - Set Designer, John Pritchett - Sound/Sound Designer, Robert Grieve - Sound Editor, Lawrence Kasdan - Screenwriter| Mumfie: The Movie (2001 Film), Mumfie's Tales of Discovery (2001 Film) | |
| Mumia Abu-jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt? (1996 Film), Mumiens Halsbånd (1916 Film) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Mumford (film)
| Mumford | |
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| Directed by | Lawrence Kasdan |
| Produced by | Lawrence Kasdan Charles Okun |
| Written by | Lawrence Kasdan |
| Starring | Loren Dean Hope Davis Jason Lee Alfre Woodard Mary McDonnell |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
| Cinematography | Ericson Core |
| Editing by | Carol Littleton William Steinkamp |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 24, 1999 |
| Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $28,000,000[1] |
| Box office | $4,555,459 |
Mumford is a 1999 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan. It is set in a small town where a new psychologist (Loren Dean) gives offbeat advice to the neurotic residents. Both the psychologist and the town are named Mumford, a coincidence that eventually figures in the plot.
The film co-stars Hope Davis, Jason Lee, Alfre Woodard, Mary McDonnell, Martin Short, and Ted Danson and was the film debut of Zooey Deschanel. It also features future Dancing with the Stars alum and winner Kelly Monaco in a small (non-speaking) role.
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Contents
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Plot
As a relative newcomer to town, Dr. Mumford (Loren Dean) seems charming and skillful to his neighbors and patients. His unique, frank approach to psychotherapy soon attracts patients away from the two therapists (David Paymer and Jane Adams) already working in the area.
Soon he is treating a variety of conditions, ranging from one man's attachment to dime-store erotic novels to an unhappy woman's compulsive shopping. Mumford befriends a billionaire computer mogul (Jason Lee) and a cafe waitress (Woodard) and he attempts to play matchmaker. He also begins to fall for a patient (Hope Davis) who suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome.
Together with an attorney (Martin Short), a patient Mumford had rejected because of his narcissism, the rival therapists conspire to find skeletons in Mumford's closet, hoping to destroy his reputation. And there are indeed skeletons galore, as a confidante of Mumford's soon finds out.
Cast
- Loren Dean as Dr. Mumford
- Hope Davis as Sofie Crisp
- Jason Lee as Skip Skipperton
- Alfre Woodard as Lily
- Mary McDonnell as Althea Brockett
- Pruitt Taylor Vince as Henry Follett
- Zooey Deschanel as Nessa Watkins
- Martin Short as Lionel Dillard
- David Paymer as Dr. Ernest Delbanco
- Jane Adams as Dr. Phyllis Sheeler
- Kevin Tighe and Dana Ivey as Mr. and Mrs. Crisp
- Ted Danson as Jeremy Brockett
- Jason Ritter as Martin Brockett
- Elisabeth Moss as Katie Brockett
- Robert Stack as Himself
- Simon Helberg as College Roommate
Reception
Mumford was generally considered a pleasant but forgettable film. Many critics expressed a general approval of the movie, but questioned the unpleasant back story (which contrasted with the overall tone of the film). The film has a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus "Memorable moments are few and far between."
The film, based on a $28 million budget, was a commercial failure, earning only $4,555,459 in the US.[2]
References
- ^ "Mumford (1999) – Box office/business". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140397/business. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
- ^ "Mumford (1999) – Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mumford.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
External links
- Mumford at the Internet Movie Database
- Mumford at AllRovi
- Mumford at Box Office Mojo
- Mumford at Rotten Tomatoes
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