Arlen Faber (Daniels) is a world famous author that absolutely hates his fame and the people who read his book. He refuses to go to signings, do interviews, or do anything that can impede his solitary private life. The only person who he knows is his publisher, and she's frustrated by his constant inability to care about her or the book at all. He just wants to be left alone. Unfortunately, one day he throws out his back and must crawl (literally) through the nearby town to go to a chiropractor. He's just lucky that chiropractor is the lovely and charming single mother Elizabeth (Graham). He's instantly smitten, because no one can withstand Lauren Graham, and tries to play the calm and knowledgeable writer with her.

His book is about God where he says he spoke with God and got answers to some of the most important questions. And yet Arlen is clearly struggling with his life and bitter about the world. He appears to hate everyone and everything, and he tries to return the various spirituality books he buys to make himself feel better. The book store owner, Kris (Pucci), just got back from rehab and cannot take the books. In time he realizes who Arlen is and tries to get answers from him, answers that will solve his problems with his father and his past as an alcoholic. Boy is he barking up the wrong tree, as the mailman played by Tony Hale points out: "Maybe he wrote Me and God, but he did not read it."

This is a sweet romantic comedy that is smartly and concisely written, although it might have been nice to get an idea about what Arlen wrote in his book that inspired so many. All he states is that he asked questions he wanted answers to and then answered them to the best of his ability. But what exactly does that mean? Did everyone really believe God spoke to him? His relationship to God is not handled very much in the film, since he does seem to want to connect with religion and yet gets impatient or infuriated instead. It felt like The Answer Man was trying to build up to something great, to communicate something great, and instead it just drops off as a typical romantic comedy toward the end. This is not a bad thing; in fact it works well as a small but charming romcom. The acerbic man falls for the sweet and sparky single mom, and then he does something to anger her, but in the end he turns around and she forgives him for being a jerk.

It is a little done to death by now, but the actors are solid and the writing is sharp. It believes that the audience is smart and doesn't try to talk down to anyone, which is delightful. Graham is a breath of fresh air, and Pucci is probably the soul of the entire film as the one truly struggling to find meaning and direction in his tainted life. The side characters are underused but all performed admirably.

On the DVD there are a few extras, including "Characters of The Answer Man," "A Look at The Answer Man," and "The Answer Man: From Concept to Creation." These are all excellent featurettes because they delve deeply into the process of the film, and the actors commentary on their characters. There are also trailers for other upcoming Magnolia films coming out.

Overall The Answer Man is a pleasant film with romance, a little comedy, and a touch of drama. It might not be the most memorable film of the year, but it has genuine heart.

ComicsOnline gives The Answer Man 4 out of 5 unhappy authors.