| Overview: | A mentally retarded man named Sam (Sean Penn) is left by his wife/girlfriend immediately after she gives birth to their daughter Lucy (Dakota Fanning). He struggles at a low-paying job at Starbucks to earn a living to support the two of them, and with the help of his agoraphobic neighbor Annie (Dianne Wiest) seems to manage the task of fatherhood. When one day Sam is propositioned by a prostitute and doesn't seem to understand what is going on, he is arrested for solicitation. Once there, they learn that he's got a daughter; and eventually, social services intervenes and tries to take his kid away from him.
Desperate to get his daughter back, he looks through the yellow pages for a lawyer, eventually settling on the firm with the biggest and most expensive-looking ad. He stops by, and is nearly laughed out of the office by hot-shot lawyer Rita (Michelle Pfeiffer), until she is put in an embarrassing position in front of some clients and is forced to take his case pro bono (free of charge).
From here, Sam's friendship with Rita develops very slowly, but beautifully. Sam's faith in the beautiful, self-centered Rita is complete, he imagines that her life is perfect because she's got money, smarts, a family, a nice car... The cynical Rita resents Sam, thinks he's basically useless, and initially does as little as possible to help him with his case. But as they come to know each other, and Rita gets to know Sam's daughter Lucy, their bond grows. Rita soon learns to see Sam's naiveté not as a flaw in his personality but as a beautiful representation of his pure spirit. And in the process, Rita is forced to evaluate her own fast-paced lifestyle, her young son who barely speaks to her, her husband who she doesn't seem to even know...
Eventually, Sam and Rita bring their case to trial. Despite their pleas, all their work, and the desperate desire of young Lucy to stay with her father, the decision of Lucy's custody will ultimately be left up to the judge and no one else. Lucy's and Sam's future hangs in the balance. The trial that follows is a painfully cathartic and yet beautiful experience that exposes many of Sam and Rita's flaws as well as all their strengths.
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