Revisiting 1999: The Forgotten Films --- Mumford (Lawrence Kasdan)

Here's what I've covered so far:

The War Zone (Tim Roth)
Sunshine (István Szabó)
Beyond the Mat (Barry W. Blaustein)
Galaxy Quest (Dean Parisot)

Coming up:

Bowfinger (Frank Oz) – June 15th
Cookie's Fortune (Robert Altman) - June 22nd
Sleepy Hollow (Tim Burton) - June 29th
The Iron Giant (Brad Bird) - July 6th
October Sky (Joe Johnston) - July 13th
Election (Alexander Payne) - July 20th

God bless Lawrence Kasdan. His 1999 film Mumford belongs in another era of film. The term Capra-esque is thrown around way too often, but here it's so very appropriate. Kasdan's tongue can be found nowhere near his cheek, which is a relief since this was about the time where most comedies were becoming more and more cynical. Mumford is not a drama, it's not a character study, and it's not driven by a plot...it just exists in its own charming universe, a film filled with tons of nuanced laughs and scene after pleasurable scene that brings a smile to your face. In a year that brought us the film that created the onslaught of lowbrow comedies (American Pie) Kasdan created a wonderfully charming ensemble piece; a film that elicits some of the most genuine smiles. The movie just wants to be nice, gosh darn it! And you know what, that's okay with me. Kasdan's forgotten gem from 1999 is one of those movies that reminds the viewer of the ease Capra made his films with. There's nothing shocking in the film, and really, when the twist comes midway into the film it's not as if the astute viewer hasn't already picked up on it. Kasdan isn't trying to surprise us. The film is about a town that's quick to forgive and eager for the possibilities the next day brings. Like his town of Mumford, I think Kasdan is just happy to have this movie exist: it doesn't need to say anything profound, and it doesn't really want to. The film is a joy to sit through; breezy, heart warming, and not a pretentious bone in its body.


Similar to another brilliant 1999 forgotten gem, Robert Altman's Cookie's Fortune, Mumford is an ensemble comedy existing in one of those small towns only conjured up by those who work in Hollywood. This is a town where you wouldn't mind living the rest of your life. It's the kind of town where the therapist knows everyone in town and they all call him "Doc". It's also a town where everyone seems to confide in the good doctor, who is aptly names Mumford. Loren Dean plays Mumford as a man who listens, but doesn't ask silly therapist questions. He talks in circles and is playful with his patients. However, there is a care there that is not in the least pretentious or driven by monetary reasons. Mumford is a good man with a good heart, he fits in well with the town.

Kasdan has an affinity for working with large ensembles. His Grand Canyon was one of the best films of the 90's, and The Big Chill was a favorite among many in the 80's (although I still have never seen it). Here he's working with a great cast: the aforementioned Dean, Martin Short, Hope Davis, Ted Danson, David Paymer, Jane Adams, Alfre Woodard, Mary McDonnell, Jason Lee, and Zooey Deschanel. They all have some kind of problem, and they all see Mumford about it (even Paymer who plays another therapist in town).

The character that confides in Mumford the most is Skip Skipperton (that name proves that this movie belongs in another era of filmmaking) -- played wonderfully by a not-yet-so-annoying Jason Lee -- a dot-comer not unlike Bill Gates. He basically employs everyone in town, and he's lonely. He just wants someone to throw a baseball around with; someone where it won't feel like an order. A friendship develops and Mumford ends up confiding in Skip one day as the two hike. If you haven't seen the film I won't reveal the secret, but the results of the revelation fit perfectly with how a town like Mumford would react to such news. It's even fitting that when Mumford has to go to court at the end of the movie, the lawyer who represents him (Martin Short) is the same person who was trying to get him out of town earlier in the movie.

There isn't much to talk about in terms of plot when you're talking about a movie like Mumford. Like I said there aren't any real big dramatic conflicts or climaxes; there's just an aura of good feelings throughout that make you smile. When you have a large ensemble like this, the director usually just moves from one vignette to the next. Here, Kasdan does it seamless as we never notice the film's "slow" qualities, but rather we revel in them. Kasdan uses the backdrop of Mumford's office for most of the major plots, but he has fun taking his characters on walks through the streets and hikes up in the hills; just kind meandering as we wander, and wonder, through this town of Mumford.

The film is more of a mood than anything else. It's hard to do a proper review of this film, but there is something so antiquated in the charm found within every frame of this film. Is it a perfect film? Not by any means, but it's a film that you feel really good about spending your time with.

I've always liked Kasdan as a director. I love his early noir Body Heat and his westerns Wyatt Earp and the extremely fun Silverado, another great example of the man's mastery of the ensemble picture. Whenever I hear the man's name I always associate him with making lots of movies, but one glance at his resume and he has never been that busy of a director. Which is too bad, because I like the way he approaches the comedy with this film, and I've always liked the way he handles the ensemble picture, which when placed in the wrong hands is often too focused on happenstance to get the message across.

What I love about Mumford is that Kasdan's words and his direction elicits the allegories that come with these films that take place in a whimsical fairy tale town without going over-the-top with any particular "message" (his L.A. film Grand Canyon was subtle in delivering its message, too). I'm sure Kasdan was creating a town here in which he wished we could all live in at the turn on the then uncertain century, but he allows the viewer to get swept up in the whimsy of it all, the sweetness and the genuine charm that permeates the screen; instead of hitting the viewer of the head with his allegorical hammer. Mumford is an Eden, a perfect Utopia that we would all want to escape to, and Kasdan's restraint with the script, the wonderful ensemble acting, and the genuine way the characters forgive one another, and listen to one another is the perfect counter argument for what was to become the recent slew of gross-out comedies about to take multiplexes by storm.

Thank you Lawrence Kasdan. Sure Mumford is almost too sweet for its own good, but I relished in every unpretentious moment of it. It's truly one of the forgotten gems of 1999.