When I look over my personal list of favorite films I find that most of my favorites reside at different ends of the same continuum. Many of my favorites are big films, films such as Gandhi, Schindler's List, and Dances With Wolves. Most of the rest of my favorite films are small films, films like A Family Thing, Spitfire Grill, and Il Postino. Simon Birch will be added to my list of favorite small films.While the film is small in feel, and its subject small in stature, there are some big emotions and sentiments that provide the foundation for the film. Simon Birch is a loose adaptation of a novel by John Irving, and is about a young boy who was the smallest recorded birth at the local hospital. Simon Birch is a dwarf who believes he is the way he is because he is an instrument of God. At points, it is a little hard to think of Simon in this category. Simon lapses into crude language, the occasional obscene gesture, and a typical adolescent obsession with female anatomy. When all is said and done, however, if we have difficulty in seeing Simon as an instrument of God, it reflects our smallness, not his.Simon's best friend is Joe, sometimes known to the locals as the Wentworth bastard. Joe is preoccupied with discovering the identity of his father. Simon is preoccupied with hearing his Father's voice and discovering his unique purpose. The bond between these friends is based in part on their respective quests, but also on the deviant status conferred on them by the townspeople. The bond between these two friends is part of what makes the film so engaging and ultimately rewarding. The performances by veteran actor Joe Mazzello (he plays Joe here, previously seen in Radio Flyer and Jurassic Park) and newcomer Ian McKellan as Simon are excellent. There are solid supporting perfomances by David Strathairn, Ashley Judd, and Oliver Platt.Simon Birch is directed by Mark Steven Johnson, whose previous screen credits include screenwriting credits for Grumpy Old Men. Grumpy old men is a good description of the audience that should steer clear of Simon Birch. Like many postmodern films, this film is a collage of style and texture ranging from broad slapstick humor in the Christmas pageant to serious emotional drama (and occasional melodrama) when one of the central characters is seriously ill. Several critics saw the sentimentality or the melodrama as a fatal flaw. There are points where the film is perhaps heavy-handed, but taken as a whole, director Mark Steven Johnson has crafted an engaging, and inspirational film that is definitely worth a look. Good things come in small packages. Here that applies to the character Simon Birch as well as the film that bears his name.

Beautiful and underrated. If you need hope in life then watch this film. The love and friendship between a small boy and his town is moving and shows that belief in hope, no matter how many want you to fail is stronger than anything. Love yourself and others as though you are not separate and you will learn how to live happily. The directing is phenomenal and the dialog is fantastic. Regardless of what you hate about yourself, this film will teach you how to be grateful for the life you live. The narration by Jim is perfect and not once do you believe he is telling a "story." He is speaking of the strength it takes to put your faith in another's hands and never regretting it because the life lessons you learn.

I've read several people complaining about one part of the story that does not seem credible in the film, when "the mum dies after being hit on the head by a foul ball in a little league baseball game, hit by the weakest person in the world".The thing is, this is the only part of the film that is true to the book! As someone said, the book is 600 pages long and it's too difficult to make it into a movie, but not impossible so I hope that someday some director will take the challenge on.I thought the acting was very good, especially the two boys. Yes, why Jim Carrey was not credited?

This film should be watched by anyone and everyone. Its the story of Simon Birch, a young boy with a growth disorder who makes friends with Joe. Even though Birch kills his best friends Mum by firing a baseball at her head (accidentally) they still remain best of friends throughout the film, proving that friendship can surpass anything. But on a bus on a cold winters day the bus swerves and crashes into a river where Birch helps everyone get off the bus alive. He too gets off the bus alive yet dies in hospital some time later. This is a superb family with strong acting and, being a 16 year old guy im not scared to admit that it made me cry because it was so thought provoking and well acted that i believed what was happening. Superb stuff!