All I can say is "BRAVO"!

I can think a few movies I have seen that were better!

This movie will make you remember growing up, friends, getting into trouble, and how rich your life is because of your friends!

Don't miss this one!

Not only do I think that this movie was a pathetic, syrupy waste of otherwise useful celluloid, I am simply revolted by the fact that the source for this travesty was A Prayer for Owen Meany. The distortion that occured between Irving's book and the parade of idiocy on the screen was so great that I think that the screenwriter must have been using a Serbian translation of Prayer, though he could read only Greek, and employed a Zulu translator to bridge the linguistic gap. The movie takes a meaningful book about fate, man's approach to religion, and the second coming, and reduces it to a weak imitation of Steel Magnolias, a twisted meditation on 'friendship,' insamuch as the cretinous characters can be said to have a friendship. The script and photography are reminiscent of the very worst of Pauly Shore's movies, and the music follows the precedent established by The Wonder Years and Forrest Gump - specifically, as a tool to emphasize the fact that the story is set in the 1960s. The one grace of the film - and while it is magnificent, the movie itself is so abysmal that I cannot justly say that it is a saving grace - is the flawless acting. Ashley Judd and Oliver Platt are sublime, as are the young men playing Simon and Joe, and I have no doubt that if a proper adaptation was ever undertaken, this cast would be more than adequate to perform in it. It is not enough for me to advise you to stay away from the theatre. It is not enough for me to advise you to toss rotten fish in the theatre to keep others from seeing this movie. It may be an awful enough picture to warrant me urging you to accept Simon Birch's release as a sign of the oncoming Visigoth invasion, stock up on shotguns and bottled water, and head for the hills.

Just like what Mark said in his review of this film, it is at best a rememberance of growing up and the need of friends. Even though this movie does shamlessley push the emotional 'cry' button, it does so effectively. I rather enjoyed this movie and would go see it again at the drop of a hat!

The main character was played exceptionally well by newcomer Ian Michael Smith, the other characters in the movie did great as well. Joseph Mazzello plays Ian's best friend in the movie and he plays this role so good that it's hard to believe that he was the kid in Jurassic Park!

I really enjoyed this movie, do not wait. See it immediately, but do bring the tissues.

If you love to feel, you'll love this movie! I've read reviews by critics who have obviously gone in to the theatre wanting to analyze, not feel... But if laughing, crying, and searching for meaning are what you're in the mood for, get to "Simon Birch" before others (those aforementioned critics) try to tell you how to feel.

Before my wife and I went to see Simon Birch, we had mixed feelings because of the reviews we had read. Seeing the movie dispelled any mixed feelings. It was a movie full of belly hurting laughter, nostalgia, faith, mean people and heros. I have not seen a movie of this genre that made me laugh, listen intently, and cry since I saw One Flew over the Cukoo's Nest. Simon Birch was a wonderful movie. Take your family, your wife, your date, and enjoy life.

Simply put, this film is decent. I am a huge fan of Irving's novel, and when I'd heard that it was being made - even without the names intact - I was curious. The whole last third of the film is a total sham - and any true fan of the novel would be advised to write to Mark Steven Johnson and ask why he screwed the climax up so bad. But the acting? PERFECT. Mazzello blew me away...how old is this kid? 13? 14? Jeez...I wonder....is it out of the question that he gets a nod for Best Supporting actor or something? As for Smith - Where in the world did they find this kid?!?!? He's perfect....I didn't think you could find a person to BE Owen Meany (Simon Birch) but they found him!! The movie has some decent moments, and some REALLY funny lines, but overall, the ending leaves you a little cold - if you've read the book. If not, you might not be so offended. But I DID read the book - so I am. :-)

Simon Birch (1998)

I've yet to decide if a movie is good if it makes you cry. SIMON BIRCH gave me at least one all-out belly laugh, during the Christmas pageant, and I've thought for some time that a movie is decent if it makes you shout in laughter. But crying?

I did not cry during Forrest Gump's monologue directed at Jenny's grave. It was as though the director were lighting up a CRY NOW sign, in the same way that television studios light APPLAUSE signs. The movie did not earn our tears, at least in this scene.

SIMON BIRCH made my lip quiver, and I know my daughter was squeezing my wife's arm during the scenes that were designed to be gut-wrenching. Maybe the answer is here, that if a sequence is "designed" or "engineered" to move us, it does not ring true, and therefore does not come by our tears honestly. The taint of artifice.

What's likable about SIMON BIRCH? It's a buddy movie, two boys who are best friends, and it's set in the early 1960s. So there's an aura of nostalgia, a feeling that the action is ensconced in the lost and better past. The main plot hovers about the life of Joe Wentworth (Joseph Mazzello), a 12 year-old who does not know who his father is. For some time he has been the butt of jokes and scorn, but his mother has not revealed her lover met years ago on the train. Life-long pal Simon Birch (Ian Michael Smith), also 12 but with the eccentricities of someone much older, decides he will help Joe find his father. We are also informed of Simon's deep-seated belief that God put him here for a purpose, that because of his faith, Simon would cope with his dwarfism and overcome people's blindness. Simon would become a hero.

These two early adolescents quickly endear themselves to the viewer. Although their routine is typical - playing baseball, racing to the creek for a swim, discussing girls - the script (by Mark Steven Johnson) has them perform these growing up tasks with quirky originality. Simon's self-deprecating humor is especially charming. He one-ups Joe in physical comparisons, though he goes for the smaller instead of the superior. He accepts playing the Baby Jesus because he is the only student who will fit in the crib. And he rides, perhaps too cutely, in a wooden Coca-Cola crate rigged up as a sidecar to Joe's bike. Though their actions and ideas are occasionally unexplainable, both boys craft fine performances, causing the audience to feel a range of emotions.

Ashley Judd distinguishes herself as Rebecca Wentworth, Joe's mother. Although cast as an ideal - the pretty and caring mom - Judd steps around firmly in the role, making it believable. Part of her importance is serving as Simon's surrogate mom, one who cares about the boy - unlike his real parents, who permit Simon to live with them but are otherwise uninvolved. Judd's acting might be compared to the product of a writer who works hard for transparent prose, or of a dancer who works tirelessly for effortless leaps. It's unfortunate that the story calls for Rebecca to appear only in the first half of the film.

Oliver Platt's role, Ben Goodrich the drama teacher who begins to date Rebecca, suffers from acute stereotype. But Platt manages to make the character engaging. Yes, Joe initially resents him, and Ben tries to win the boy over with goofy gifts and behaviors. But there's a depth that Ben's character achieves, especially after Rebecca's character departs from the story. Platt's flat face and nonchalance connects him with both Joe and Simon, another surrogate, but the audience is also in on the connection.

Like Platt, David Strathairn is a reliable character actor, but the script does not fully develop his Reverend Russell. What we get is a lightweight Dimmesdale from The Scarlet Letter, a stiff and rather cowardly man whose presence is overshadowed by any character appearing with him. Other supporting roles are well-cast, including Jan Hooks, almost unrecognizable, as Miss Leavy, a nasty Sunday school teacher, and Jim Carrey as the adult Joe Wentworth, whom we see in the framing tale at start and end.

Director Mark Steven Johnson's main accomplishment is the friendship among the main characters; these relationships make us care about them. A secondary success is the comfortable mood set up by the beautiful camera work, especially in scenes that perfectly evoke fall and winter. September was a great month in which to release this film: the leaves and fast-running water throughout the story both add to the imagery and cause the climax to reverberate all the more.

If I were to rank SIMON BIRCH by percentile, it would place in the 80's - perhaps a "B" picture, but one that is considerably more than half successful. As far as causing tears, I mostly agree with a writing teacher who said a good story is one that makes you laugh or cry. SIMON BIRCH affected my family and me, and I'll carry some of its images in my mental storehouse of favorites. Because it meets these criteria, and because I cared about its characters, SIMON BIRCH is a good film to me.

I must say I was rather reluctant when my wife decided she wanted to see this movie...as I was pushing for Armageddon. But the movie did not disappoint. I absolutely loved this movie. I laughed. I cried. This movied engulfed me... taking me back to my childhood in the process. A definite thumbs up...way up.

Simon Birch Is the most heart touching movie I've ever seen. I was sobbing in the theatre and even though I was about to pee all over myself, the movie kept me in my seat. I just had to know what was going to happen next. A real family movie. Gives you a good cry. THe only movie I cried more in was Titanic.

Touching, heartwarming story of a young boy affected with dwarfism (Ian Michael Smith) and his relationship with his best friend (Joseph Mazzello). In response to criticisms of the movie’s syrupy sweet pulling of the heartstrings I say guilty as charged. But it is done SO WELL. So what if the filmmakers tell you to laugh at point A and cry at point B. If it’s done right (and God, is Simon Birch done right) what’s the problem? I WAS laughing at point A. And I WAS crying at point B. The key is incredible performance by the ENTIRE cast: I immediately fell in love with Ashley Judd’s character. Jan Hooks is hilarious. Oliver Platt and an uncredited other performer are perfect. I always knew Joey Mazello had the ability to pull off his performance in Simon Birch (see The Cure). And then there’s little Simon himself. I can’t put it into words: You must see the film for yourself. It’s as if everyone who made this movie gave it their all and it shows. Roger Ebert says: "It’s a funny movie, it’s a warmhearted movie, and I loved it." Gene Siskel says: "One of the year’s best and certainly most thoughtful and emotional movies." As for the negative criticism, most all of it I’ve heard seem to be coming from folks who are comparing Simon Birch to "A Prayer For Owen Meany," and not judging it on its own merits. Simon Birch is INSPIRED by Owen Meany. It's NOT an ADAPTATION. It is, as of the end of October, my favorite movie of 1998 and I'm up over 70 films for the year and counting...

10-point scale rating: 9

\"Simon Birch\" is the title of the film, but you got to meet him.A small guy with a zest for life. That guy will mke you laugh, make you cry, make you think. You will never forget him or the things he said or do. \"Simon Birch\" is must-see. This film will make you laugh and cry. That\'s one of the reasons why we go to the moviess.