HEAD CASE: For anyone who’s ever toyed with the idea that psychotherapists can give their patients a run for their money in who’s the crazier? department, writer/director Lawrence Kasdan‘s Mumford should prove a validating experience. Mumford is about a young charismatic psychiatrist named Mumford who practices in a town called Mumford. Though he’s only been on the scene four months, he’s got much of the town availing themselves of his wise and congenial therapy, which includes taking walks with, gossiping with and confiding in his patients. He’s the kind of guy people just naturally get personal and confessional with. Trouble is, Mumford has no credentials, and, as he confesses to his young, Bill Gates-like billionaire-skateboarder patient-turned-pal, his past experience includes using drugs, working for the I.R.S. and sleeping with his coworker’s wife. Now if you were Lawrence Kasdan, who would you castas a guy who could get away with this? Tom Cruise? Well, Kasdan’s gone with Loren Dean, a very good actor, granted, but not someone exery director would trust to bring off this movie, much less open it. Thiswill be Dean’s second big-screen chance at stardom, the first being histitle role in the ill-fated Billy Bathgate. While the cast also includes Alfre Woodard, David Paymer, Ted Danson and Martin Short, the best suporting role, that of the young billionaire, Skip, will be played by the highly touted Jason Lee, the skateboarder-turned-actor whose credits include Mallrats, Chasing Amy (he was Ben Affleck‘s roommate) and Kissing a Fool. Skip’s pet project is the creation of “a virtually lifelike, humanoid, gender-specific, anatomically functional…sexual surrogate-slash-companion.” Suddenly-everwhere Hope Davis was cast inanother crucial role, the young woman who, suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome in the wake of a divorce, seeks Mumford’s help and gets his affection in the bargain. Hard to say how all this will play on-screen,but Kasdan’s written it smoothly in a winning, if slightly aging-yuppie touchy-feelyish big-screen “Northern Exposure” kind of way.