"I Dream Too Much" is a film that impressed me because of the acting...and that's probably reason enough to make the film worth seeing for some of you. Diane Ladd might not be a name you recognize, though it's very likely you've seen her in films or television over the years. Now at 80, I can only say that her acting is like a fine wine...it's improving with age.

The film is about a rather odd college graduate who is ambivalent about applying to law school. Law school is really her mother's dream...and Dora (Eden Brolin) is much more of a dreamer and wants to experience life before considering doing anything as mundane as graduate school. But her mother is insistent...and Dora seems to feel that she might as well do as her mother wants without arguing. However, when Dora ends up going to spend time taking care of her injured Great Aunt Vera (Ladd), he plans and her outlook for the future end up changing significantly.

While Eden Brolin is quite likable in the lead, I was a bit disappointed in some aspects of the character she portrayed. At times, it was very easy for me to dislike Dora...especially when she gave out her Great Aunt's private diaries for others to read...and without telling Vera! This and a couple other thoughtless moments made it hard for me to love the film...a serious problem with the script. Still, with acting this good, it's not a film I want folks to neglect. It was nice to see how Brolin did in her first starring role and I can only assume she's learned a bit from her father, Josh, and her grandfather, James Brolin.

But the real star of the film was definitely Ladd. While she was a supporting character, she dominated all the scenes in which she appeared. She made her lines seem less like an actress reading a script and more like her actually being Great Aunt Vera. She was simply amazing to watch.