Overview
Simon Birch is a 1998 American comedy-drama film loosely based on the 1989 novel A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving and written for the screen and directed by Mark Steven Johnson in his directorial debut. The film stars Ian Michael Smith, Joseph Mazzello, Jim Carrey, Ashley Judd, and Oliver Platt. It omitted much of the latter half of the novel and altered the ending.
The film does not share the book's title at Irving's request; he did not believe that his novel could successfully be made into a film. The name "Simon Birch" was suggested by him to replace that of Owen Meany. The opening credits of the film state that it was "suggested by" Irving's novel. The main plot centers on 12-year-old Joe Wenteworth and his best friend Simon Birch, who was born with dwarfism.
Plot
An adult Joe Wenteworth visits the grave of his late friend, Simon Birch. He narrates over as the film transitions to their childhood. Simon is the smallest child in the history of Gravestown. His callous parents show little to no concern for his wellbeing. He loves baseball even though he almost never gets to play during Little League, and when he does, it’s only to get a walk due to his small strike zone. Joe's mother, Rebecca, got pregnant with Joe while she was on a train. Her refusal to reveal the identity of the father has resulted in Joe's reputation as the town's bastard child.
One day, Rebecca invites drama teacher Ben Goodrich over for dinner. He meets the boys and gifts Joe a stuffed armadillo. Simon takes a liking to Ben, but Joe is standoffish, as he just wants to find his father. Rebecca invites Ben with them to church one Sunday morning. During church announcements, Simon expresses his beliefs to Reverend Russell that church necessities and activities are irrelevant to glorifying God. Sunday school teacher Miss Leavey sits him in a corner until he apologizes. She berates him, saying he doesn’t belong in church. Outraged among hearing this, Rebecca argues with Leavey as she comes to pick up Simon, calling out her insecurities towards Simon’s faith.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
