Synopsis

A mysterious psychologist arrives in the Oregon town of Mumford and quickly becomes popular for his unusually direct, compassionate advice. As he helps the town's lonely, troubled residents, he builds unexpected friendships and falls for one of his patients. But his growing success attracts the suspicion of rival therapists, who begin investigating the secrets behind his identity.

Factoids & Trivia

• Since no single California town provided all the visual elements needed for Mumford, production used eleven locations, including St. Helena, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Calistoga, Napa, Guerneville, Sonoma, Kenwood, and Tomales.

• The film was released by Touchstone Pictures on September 24, 1999, and runs 112 minutes.

• Mumford marked Zooey Deschanel's film debut.

• Jason Lee performed his own skateboarding scenes. The skateboard used by his character features the logo of Stereo Skateboards, the company Lee co-founded.

• Simon Helberg appears briefly as Mumford's college roommate. The role was his first credited acting appearance.

• The film was made on a reported $28 million budget but earned approximately $4.6 million in the United States, making it a significant commercial failure despite generally favorable notices from some critics.

• The film was shot in the widescreen CinemaScope format, an unusual choice for a small-scale character comedy-drama.