Therapist Micky Mumford (Loren Dean) is new in the town of Mumford. Lily (Alfre Woodard) runs the coffee shop. Mumford's unusual methods have garner a large following of clients although he's hiding secrets from his past. Shopaholic Althea Brockett (Mary McDonnell) is married to Jeremy (Ted Danson) with two teen kids (Jason Ritter, Elisabeth Moss). Nessa Watkins (Zooey Deschanel) is a flighty girl. Lionel Dillard (Martin Short) is the defense lawyer. Skip Skipperton (Jason Lee) is the town savior getting rich from modem manufacturing worth $3 billion who wants to pay Mumford for his friendship. Sofie Crisp (Hope Davis) is exhausted from her sickness.

Loren Dean is not charismatic enough to take the lead. There are plenty of supporting roles that he could have taken in this vast town of characters. The lead needs star quality which he is severely lacking. Instead, he's a blank floating from one character to another. I'm not sure exactly what director/writer Lawrence Kasdan is trying to do. This has a bit of whimsy but nowhere near enough to be funny. It doesn't have enough edge to be interesting. At least, Loren Dean doesn't project edge. Luckily, the movie is filled with great actors but the most important role is filled by the lackluster Dean.

Now here is a different kind of story: a very low-key guy (Loren Dean) pretending to be a psychiatrist in a small town.

Dean does a fabulous job of portraying the soft-spoken, easy-going "shrink" and is so likable that he makes the film enjoyable.

There are a few spots that drag on too long, such as a few scenes with Hope Davis' character but the "patients" as a whole are certainly interesting and varied. This is another one of those films that got much press, and undeservedly-so because it's pretty entertaining with a good cast. In addition to the above, we see Alfre Woodard, Mary McDonnell, David Paymer, Martin Short and Ted Danson. If you are familiar with those actors, you'll know why a psychiatrist is needed!

Lawrence Kasdan's "Mumford" is a film that could have been done by Frank Capra in another time. Mr. Kasdan created an enigmatic man, Dr. Mickey Mumford, who appears in the small town out of nowhere. He quickly goes to become an indispensable person in the community with his no-nonsense approach to psychiatry.

Mumford touches the lives of the people that come to him seeking his advice. Among the people he helps, there is Sofie Crisp, a young woman suffering from depression and some sort of fatigue syndrome that renders her unfit to live her life to the fullest. With Mumford's help, she begins her daily walks as she gains confidence and opens up to see what is out there.

The film opens with a black and white sequence that is a fantasy being played in the mind of Henry. We realize it's only his mind wandering as he is not capable of doing what he dreams about. There is also the young millionaire who is one of the richest men in the country because his firm produces modems for computers and who doesn't care to show his eccentric side for all to see.

Mumford's cover is finally revealed when an episode of the television program "Unsolved Mysteries" in which he is showcased. The town of Mumford, instead of condemning him, rallies in its support of a man that has done more in his humble way to help the community in spite of his deceit.

"Mumford" is a delightful movie thanks to Loren Dean, who plays the title role. Mr. Dean does a wonderful work. Hope Davis is also a charming presence in the picture. The large supporting cast has some brilliant faces in it, Alfre Woodard, Jason Lee, Mary McDonnell, Pruitt Taylor Vance, Martin Short, Jane Adams, David Paymer, and Ted Danson, among them.

The film's success belongs to Lawrence Kasdan whose brilliant take on a man who is a fake, but who has seen into the hearts of the people he has decided to settle in.