john32935 I was predisposed to like this movie through the sheer casting of the ever-lovely Lauren Graham as the female lead. Unfortunately, that is not enough to carry this movie.Both Ms. Graham and Jeff Daniels do a fine job of portraying their characters, but the story has too many holes to make this movie enjoyable. Mr. Daniels plays a reclusive author who has hidden himself from the world for 20 years since he wrote the mega-popular "God and Me," the transcript of his conversation with God. When Mr. Daniels is forced into the real world, he meets Ms. Graham and there is instant attraction (believable as to his reaction…see above disclaimer, but seems inconsistent with his prior choice of a being a recluse.) Through the story, the two leads draw each other out of their respective shells, fall apart, and then, surprise, wind up with a happy ending. I did not believe the initial attraction; I really did not believe the reason for their breakup; and then the supposed twist at the end seemed to undermine the whole premise of any attraction in the first place.Not that the movie is all bad. As I mentioned there are good performances, some interesting dialog, and the framework of a good premise. It is just that all these elements do not come together enough to make this a movie worth seeing.

rivergirl301 Very lovely and sweet movie. I had rented it a while back and caught it on satellite today and glad I did so. Jeff Daniels is uproarious, so afraid he'll be recognized as the author who had "80 percent of the God market" 20 years previously, it never dawns on him there are those who don't have a clue who he is. After agonizing over revealing his phone number to his chiropractor's receptionist for their records out of fear he'll be inundated with phone calls 24/7, he tells her, "I've thought about it and I'm going to give you my number." She thinks he's hitting on her and stops him cold with, "I've got a boyfriend." And don't assume he's a nice guy, either, just because he wrote a book about God. He dumped water on his mailman's family who showed up to serenade him.Humiliated that his book was based on a fraudulent claim, that he talked with God, he doesn't give himself that enough credit for the quiet wisdom he does possess ("You know what's cool about shaking a little kid's hand? They don't know to squeeze your hand so they just end up holding your hand for a little while.") While coming to his own truths, he helps a reformed alcoholic keep his book store (it's the only place the reformed alcoholic doesn't feel afraid) and a single mother who worries every day that she isn't doing a good enough job.My only beef with this movie is with Lauren Graham's character. They try to make her kooky but she ends up not kooky enough, so you don't really know what to make of her. And I think she was made to look horrible in this movie with weird dowdy dumpy clothes and matte flat black hair that was too harsh for her. She certainly didn't look her best. Someone dropped the ball on Miss Graham!

imdb78 It's called Asperger's Syndrome. Adam (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185836/) wasn't the only one to bring it to the movies in 2009. This time, just like your favorite movie-time snack, it got snuck in using less obvious packaging. Jeff Daniels' portrayal of the gifted, if paradoxical Arlen Faber feels a bit truer to how the condition can manifest itself in real life and how it can hide behind the most unassuming of appearances. See both movies and see that there's a reason they call it "on the spectrum" for those of us who are like Arlen or Adam.Don't think for a moment that men are the only ones who have this condition. The ratio varies according to some sources, but a healthy number seems to center around 4:1; that is, for every 4 men with Asperger's, there is only 1 woman with the condition.We don't mean to be rude or awful (okay - well, not always, anyhow), we just are. Many of us can't help it. Part of this comes from a lack of tendency to engage in or tolerate any kind of dishonesty. Another part comes from our difficulties engaging in social interactions and situations in general.Next time you come across someone like Arlen Faber, realize that you are being faced with an opportunity from God to suspend anger, hatred and judgment.

jessecj Many people have written and continue to write profound things about human quests to know God. This movie should not be mistaken for one of them. As Sarahrck observes, "religious themes are pretty minimal." The superficial telling of Arlen Faber's disconnect from the religious truths he is supposed to have discovered and shared with the world (of which we also get only a superficial glimpse) overwhelm what sweetness might otherwise be manifested in Arlen's falling in love with the utterly charming Elizabeth, and the stories of real people dealing with real problems, which Arlen so far has managed to avoid doing.The movie tries to tell us something about human quests to know God by showing the discovery by someone who wrote a wildly popular book about human quests to know God that he had claimed to know more than he knew. It is pop religion once removed, sprinkled with romance to try to make it palatable.