DVD Reviews

I AM

$14.99, one DVD, 79 minutes
Shady Acres Entertainment

I AM is a fascinating and thought-provoking documentary from Hollywood movie director Tom Shadyac. It poses two challenging and significant questions: What’s wrong with our world and what can we do about it?

As one of Hollywood's leading comedy directors of blockbuster films such as Ace Ventura, Bruce Almighty, and The Nutty Professor, Shadyac seemed to have it all. I AM was created after a cycling accident left him with post-concussion syndrome. Shadyac was forced to face his own possible death, which led him to rethink his priorities in life. After his recovery, he realized the life he had been living was a lie, and he experienced a new sense of clarity and purpose.

Shadyac embarked on a journey with a small camera crew filming his conversations and meetings with remarkable people in the fields of philosophy, science, religion, and history, including such notable figures as Lynne McTaggart, Noam Chomsky, Desmond Tutu, Howard Zinn, Coleman Barks, and Thom Hartmann. Topics discussed throughout the film include our human behavior surrounding cooperation vs. competition, separation vs. connectedness, and the role of material wealth in overall happiness.

Shadyac’s adventure, which originally began as a search for answers to what's wrong with the world, became an optimistic discovery of what's right with it.

This well-made, uplifting film will appeal not only to those in the body, mind, and spirit market but also more mainstream seekers and those who are more scientifically minded. I AM offers viewers an opportunity to get the conversation started in their own homes and communities. If a viewer is open to it, the film inspires one to search deep within and begin the transformation of being who we truly are—all connected.