It's a little reactionary in a kind of «Forrest Gump» - y sort of way — the moral runs that it's better to be decent than brilliant, happy than successful — but the film is well - meaning and the performances
from a stellar cast (Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley's accent, Laurence Fishburne, Joan Allen, Laura Linney, William H Macy all show up) mostly walk the right side of
mawkishness.