Simon Birch Review
by Craig Roush (kinnopio AT execpc DOT com)September 30th, 1998
SIMON BIRCH
*** 1/2 (out of 4) - a great movie
Release Date: September 11, 1998
Starring: Ian Michael Smith, Joseph Mazzello, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt, David Strathairn, Dana Ivey, Jim Carrey
Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG (language, emotional thematic elements, an accident scene)
URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/simon.htm
In some regards, making a movie is like trying to stretch a rubber band as far as you can without breaking it. Try too hard, and it snaps; but too much reservation means someone else will come along and pull it farther. In SIMON BIRCH, Director Mark Steven Johnson shows us just how to master the technique: he takes advantage of caution and poise, but also risks his movie with a few bold steps. In the end, he's not only holding an unbroken band, but he makes the audience appreciate the lengths he went to direct such a fine feature.
There's no doubt about it: the film that Johnson has crafted is rich. He chooses for his setting the quaint town of Gravestown, Maine - leaves turn bright orange in the fall, the grass is a lush green, pure white snow falls in the winter, and the sky goes on forever. The characters continue that turn: our two leads are Simon Birch (Ian Michael Smith) and Joe Wenteworth (Joseph Mazzello). Simon is the smallest baby ever born within the records of the local hospital, and by age twelve he's only two feet tall. Joe is the bastard son of Rebecca (Ashley Judd), and by age twelve he's ready to know who is father is. Naturally, the two outcasts become good friends and share many adventures together, from disrupting Sunday school to doing community service to playing Little League baseball.
In a wonderfully executed performance by Ian Michael Smith, Simon Birch is convinced that he's God's instrument, and there must be a reason he's so small. Joe doesn't quite buy it, but he sticks by Simon; the two tough it out through the worst of times and are each other's only true friends. Early on, the two meet up with Ben Goodrich (Oliver Platt), Rebecca's new boyfriend, and although the bond isn't immediate, Ben and the two boys develop a liking for each other. Both Platt and Judd give solid performances that lend their characters a deep likeability. The audience cares about them as much as they do about Joe and Simon, a testament to the acting jobs of both. Finally, Jim Carrey gives a cameo as the adult Joe in the present day, and his few minutes here are relatively more impressive than his entire performance in THE TRUMAN SHOW.
Mark Steven Johnson's sense of drama and writing is fantastic. The script is loosely based on John Irving's novel, A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY, but it's so far off the source material that Irving actually requested the credits be changed from 'based on' to 'suggested by.' Along those same lines, it's almost unfitting to compare the two; Johnson uses tension, humor, atmosphere, and suspense to create an original drama of Forrest Gumpian proportions. By no means has he developed a project of similar popularity - GUMP made over 300 million dollars while BIRCH ought to pass out of sight in a few weeks - but the winning idea remains the same. SIMON BIRCH is a different look at a different life, and one that will most likely be studied in film school classes in decades to come. In the present, however, it's an enjoyable little picture that everyone ought to take a look at.
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Craig Roush
kinnopio@execpc.com
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Kinnopio's Movie Reviews
http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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