Loosely working from John Irving's novel, "A Prayer For Owen Meany," writer/director Mark Steven Johnson (who penned the "Grumpy Old Men" movies) has fashioned an interesting, old fashioned and often touching tale with this picture. Exuding a certain innocent charm often found in movies set in pre-Vietnam America (that war has been excised from the original story), the film also focuses on a range of theme-heavy subjects such as what constitutes religious faith, searching for one's parent and tragically losing another, and justification of physical abnormalities by those challenged with them.
While that sounds rather heavy for a PG rated film -- and such material often nearly derails the films "feel good" mood and momentum -- the picture manages to pull it off due to a winning cast, decent performances, and an often whimsical approach to its storytelling.
Told in flashback and occasional voice over by comedic superstar Jim Carrey ("The Truman Show") -- who respectfully downplays the part with no goofy elements -- the story holds our interest due to several elements immediately introduced in the film. First, we see that the title character died in 1964 at the age of twelve and are thus appropriately curious about what happened to him. We're also intrigued by Carrey's character telling us that if not for his friend's actions, he wouldn't now believe in God, and so the film has that hook in us as well.
Additionally, there's the material dealing with the two friends trying to discover the identity of Joe's father, and the fact that Simon continually states that he knows for a fact that God has specially created him the way he is for an upcoming, but still unknown heroic event. Since we know he dies, we obviously tie those two together and sit back and wait for all of that -- and more -- to unfold.
Bearing similarities to last year's brilliant "The Sweet Hereafter" -- in more ways than one --, this film deals with children and tragic events involving them. In fact, I was surprised at the amount delivered by this film, and one immediately feels sorry for the character of Joe who experiences so many tragic events in less than a year that it's surprising he didn't grow up to be the Jim Carrey of "Ace Ventura" fame, instead of the new and more subdued, "Truman Show" character.
In fact, things dramatically change when Joe's mother is accidentally and surprisingly killed (despite our knowing that right from the beginning). While that, and other, elements "spin" the plot around in different directions, they wipe away much of the innocent charm and give the film an entirely different, and decidedly more somber feel.
Even so, the whole film has something of a fantasy or near fable like quality to it that prevents such events from making the film a depressing event. It also prevents the film from being held to the same logical constraints imposed on a more "normal" drama. Thus, that explains the odd qualities that Simon's parents exhibit, as well as Joe's less than long term devastated reaction to his mother's death.
When I first heard about this film and its diminutive lead, I assumed that the title character was going to be created by using special effects to "shrink" a young actor down to the appropriate size. Instead, the filmmakers chose Ian Michael Smith -- who reportedly has Morquio's Syndrome that, among other things, leads to a form of dwarfism -- to play the part.
While Smith's appearance may initially be somewhat unsettling to some viewers, the way in which he plays Simon quickly dissipates any such reaction. Like many others with physical challenges, this character is self-deprecating about this condition and otherwise acts like a normal, hormone- charged preteen.
That creates some of the film's more humorous moments as words and phrases unexpectedly come from this kid's mouth that you'd never expect from someone his size or in his condition. While some may be somewhat shocked at what he says, it's refreshing to see that the character hasn't been given, nor expects, any preferential treatment. While Smith's performance won't win him any awards in his debut role, and some of his lines feel forced and far too clever for their own good, he exudes a ton of charm that makes up for any of that.
Joseph Mazzello ("Jurassic Park," "Star Kid"), who's currently stuck in limbo between playing kids and teens, does a decent job although (and not taking into account the film's near fantasy element), his character's reactions aren't always completely realistic, especially concerning some of the more tragic events. Even so, that appears more a fault of the script than his performance.
The supporting performances are quite good with the radiant Ashley Judd ("Kiss The Girls," "The Locusts") clearly standing out as Joe's loving and caring mother. While her sudden "removal" from the story is shocking -- and eliminates possibly the best character in the story -- the moments when she does appear on screen are wonderful.
Meanwhile, Oliver Platt ("Bulworth," "Dangerous Beauty") is also good as the surrogate father figure, while David Strathairn ("L.A. Confidential," "The River Wild") is decent as the local minister with a vested interest in the boys.
While writer/director Mark Steven Johnson's manipulative efforts to toy with our emotions are often too visibly apparent -- especially since we know something's going to lead to Simon's death and the boys' farewells to each other at seemingly uneventful partings carry more resonance than they really should -- for the most part they still mange to work nonetheless.
Some of the best moments come from Carrey's occasional voice over narration. In particular, a bit about the recently deceased slowly slipping away from the living, such as when an individual's scent eventually starts to fade from everyday items, is particularly striking.
With a sweet and sweeping (and also occasionally manipulative) score from Oscar nominated composer Mark Shaiman ("The American President"), one can't help but be swept away by this film's happy and touching moments, and only the most hardened of cynics won't find something to like in this picture.
It's good to see a film featuring a physically challenged child who's confident and gets to be the hero in the end. While that may sound syrupy sweet to some, for the most part it's effectively managed here. Touching on a wide variety of subjects and themes, this pleasant little film is a funny, charming, and often heartfelt experience. We give "Simon Birch" a 7 out of 10.