Adam (2009/I)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Max Mayer

Writer:

Max Mayer (written by)

Release Date:

7 August 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A story about two strangers. One a little stranger than the other...

Plot:

Adam, a lonely man with Asperger's Syndrome, develops a relationship with his upstairs neighbor, Beth.

Plot Keywords:

Asperger's Syndrome | Raccoon | Central Park New York City | Macaroni And Cheese | One Word Title

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Hugh Dancy	...	Adam Raki
Rose Byrne	...	Beth Buchwald
Peter Gallagher	...	Marty Buchwald
Amy Irving	...	Rebecca Buchwald
Frankie Faison	...	Harlan
Mark Linn-Baker	...	Sam Klieber
Haviland Morris	...	Lyra
Adam LeFevre	...	Mr. Wardlow
Mike Hodge	...	Judge
Peter O'Hara	...	Williams
John Rothman	...	Beranbaum
Terry Walters	...	Michael
Susan Porro	...	Jen
Maddie Corman	...	Robin
Jeff Hiller	...	Rom

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, sexual content and language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45298) | Ireland:15A | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Olympus Pictures

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In response to Beth's query about what "10 to the negative 39th power" means, Adam states that it is the number represented by a decimal point followed by 39 zeros followed by a "1". Actually, it is the number represented by a decimal point followed by 38 zeros followed by a "1". It is unlikely that an "electronic engineer" such as Adam, with all the mathematical training that that entails, would make such a mistake. (It's also unlikely that a teacher such as Beth, regardless of how low a grade level she taught, would have to ask what "10 to the negative 39th power" means.)

Quotes:

[first lines]
Beth Buchwald: My favorite children's book is about a little prince who came to earth.

Movie Connections:

Features "Inside the Actors Studio: (#3.9)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

A Friendly Face

A quirky romantic comedy

You won't find traditional romantic comedies at Sundance. But quirky romantic comedies were in this year. And how much quirkier can you get than Adam, where the male lead (Hugh Dancy) has Asperger's Syndrome (like a mild, high-functional form of autism) and the female lead (Rose Byrne) is a hot and seemingly normal babe? And that's the movie—Adam is very nice but extremely weird, socially awkward, prone to erratic behavior and a societal misfit, and Beth is everything you'd want in a woman.

(This should provide a ray of hope for all the geeky guys fantasizing about a beautiful, charming and good-hearted woman falling in love with them one day. I can hear it now: "If Beth can fall for Adam, then why not me? After all, he has Asperger's and all I've got is this little hygiene problem, plus my two-room Star Wars collection.")

The movie opens with the death of Adam's father. We follow him to work, where he is writing microchip software for toys and fixated on creating interesting functionality while his boss simply wants to cut costs. He stays in the apartment he had shared with his dad, eating the same meals every day, sitting in the same chair, and following his established routines until Rose moves into the building. Adam falls in love, in his obsessive way. Rose is attracted to Adam, but naturally wary. And things proceed from there, as they work out their relationship while enduring painfully awkward physical contacts and even more pain and awkwardness meeting the friends and parents, and ultimately … well, you've got to see the film. But for my money, the ending was the best part.

Adam is a cute, mildly entertaining movie, with laughs and smiles despite a less than polished script. Both Dancy and Byrne give fine performances, and veteran actors Peter Gallagher and Amy Irving are quite good as Beth's parents. Written and directed by Max Mayer, it was picked up at Sundance by Fox Searchlight and will likely be released in 2009.