Movie Mom was the first critic to make me aware of the sleeper romantic drama “Adam” which played in very limited release last summer. The understated tone of this movie probably had a lot to do with why it didn’t get the attention it deserved at the box office, but now the movie is out on DVD and is one of those overlooked feel-good movies that I love to recommend. “Adam” is a romantic drama between a man with a disability and a teacher and benefits greatly from the performances by its stars, Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne. “Adam” stays away – for the most part- from many of the cliches typical of this type of underdog drama and has just enough heart to make it my DVD pick for the week.

As Adam himself quips in the movie that he’s no “Forrest Gump”, and neither is the film, though a few broad similarities exist. Adam is a man who responds to the world differently than most due to Asperger’s Syndrome. His tics aren’t always immediately obvious and he has been able to function somewhat in the real wolrd due to help from his father and a few others.
When his father dies, Adam is forced to navigate life on his own with only his obession with outer space to anchor him. That is until he meets a charming schoolteacher who has just moved into the building. They soon begin an ackward friendshp that leads to an uneasy romance as they each have to face unpleasant realties about their lives.
“Adam” has a quiet, gentle feel, and doesn’t have much of the overrought melodrama or grand intentions of a move like “Forrest Gump” and is in some ways the better for it. I found it a little more akin to “Lars and the Real Girl” in that it is a movie more about self-acceptance while coping with loss.And while I wouldn’t say “Adam” is nearly as good as “Lars”, Hugh Dancy makes Adam a memorable character in his own right and that really is reason enough to catch this movie.