As Good As It Gets

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A nice surprise about 2 very different characters one an ex-army American soldier man and one Muslim refugee woman.With that set-up this could have turned out to be just any typical rom-com fare but it avoids doing that by keeping a great sense of realism throughout the movie with characters and developments that all seem natural. As a big 'Freaks and Geeks' fan from my youth it's nice to see yet another Apatow 'family member' get his shot at the limelight, in this case Martin Starr who played the lovable geek with massive glasses; Bill Haverchuck in the series.And he handles the lead-role splendidly with natural charisma as does his love interest in the movie Dina Shihabi as Amira.All in all a small independent drama-comedy that succeeds at being funny and dramatic when it's supposed to be, a slice of life type of movie.

12 January 2016: I am a strong supporter of Interracial Love stories between men and women of all races since I live in an Interracial marriage myself. My favorites are "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", "Something New", "Our Family Wedding", "The Lovings", "Fools Rush In", "Guess Who", "Zebrahead", "Mississippi Masala"and "Forbidden Fruits" to name a few. I can now add "Amira and Sam" to my list, which I found by accident on the i-net. This movie is great from start to finish for various reasons. The entire cast was great, especially the two leads. Writer/Director Sean Mullin does a great job with this movie.When Americans think of Interracial Love, we usually do Not think of American soldiers in love with Arab women or Arab women in love with American soldiers especially from such countries as Iraq or Afghanistan due to all the problems we have especially post 9-11. That is like sleeping with the enemy. If or when it does happen, it is very rare and neither side wants to open their hearts and minds to accept such a couple due to racism, bigotry and terrorism in America. Middle Eastern women of Arab and Israeli decent are at times disowned by their immediate families for falling in love with men of a different race. God does Not see skin color, God only sees the heart and mind. It is easy to fall in love and marry a person of the same race and nationality, but it takes a special effort and an open heart and mind to love and marry another race. In this movie, we see the Amira, a tough young woman, with a hard turtle shell on the outside that wants nothing to do with Americans due to her brother was killed by an American soldier in her country. She is full of anger towards Sam because he is an American soldier. She is rambling on in anger with her uncle, but I love when Sam responds in Arabic and she is stunned and ask "You speak Arabic?" Sometimes I get a similar reaction when people hear me reply in Spanish or Hebrew, which are not my native languages.Midway into this movie, Amira begins to drop her hard turtle shell exterior by sleeping next to Sam in his bed. I love their first kiss, which is so sweet and innocent like two people who have never romantically kissed before, which leads to more kissing with passion. When it starts to get hot and heavy, she tells him to stop and he did what all men should do stop and respect her wishes.The ending was good, but I wish that they would have gotten married by the end of the film. Great movie. I give "Amira & Sam" a ten, two thumbs up, way up high.

First of all, the story line and the overall flow of the story seems to be very slow and distracted taking 3 stories going into 3 different directions with a very weak relationship between these stories. Very predictable ending with no attention to grab the audience's attention to any overall idea or feeling. On the other hand, even though throughout the movie I was feeling annoyed and disgust by the way the writer represented the Arab culture "my culture" in this unrealistic and irrational way. Through the whole movie, I was trying to understand the main hook or purpose behind the story, but found nothing but trying to misrepresents the actual Arabic culture and values in a way which suits the writer's fantasies and the movie sponsor's political goals. Therefore, in my opinion this movie disrespects the Arabic and Islamic values on many levels.

Ideally paced & tight, Amira & Sam combines a genuinely funny & touching script with pitch perfect timing & chemistry across a great cast, especially Dina Shihabi (Amira), Martin Starr (Sam), & Laith Nakli (Bassam). While the dialog keeps you laughing, the story line reminds us of the very real downstream impact & human cost of long-term military action on those who serve & the local population. The movie also serves as a great showcase for New York, with scenes ranging from the Staten Island Ferry to Coney Island. For an enjoyable 90 minutes that will keep you entertained & get you thinking, see Amira & Sam.