Simon Birch

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For the British artist, see Simon Birch (artist).
Simon Birch

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mark Steven Johnson
Produced by Roger Birnbaum
Laurence Mark
Screenplay by Mark Steven Johnson
Based on A Prayer for Owen Meany 
by John Irving
Narrated by Jim Carrey
Starring Ian Michael Smith
Joseph Mazzello
Jim Carrey
Ashley Judd
Oliver Platt
Music by Marc Shaiman
Cinematography Aaron E. Schneider
Editing by Amanda Burns
Studio Hollywood Pictures
Caravan Pictures
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Release dates
  • September 11, 1998 (1998-09-11) (Limited)
  • September 18, 1998 (1998-09-18)
Running time 114 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $30 million
Box office $18,253,415[2]

Simon Birch is a 1998 American comedy-drama film loosely based on A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. It was directed and written for the screen by Mark Steven Johnson. 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 movie does not share the book's title at Irving's request; he did not believe that this novel could successfully be made into a film.[citation needed] The name "Simon Birch" was suggested by him to replace that of Owen Meany.[citation needed] The main plot centers around 12-year old Joe Wenteworth and his best friend Simon Birch.

Cast

This was Smith's first and, to date, only role in film. He was chosen because of his small height caused by Morquio syndrome. His role in this film was suggested by a hospital worker in Chicago. After his parents read through the novel (A Prayer for Owen Meany) they agreed to let him work on the film. Sandra Bullock was originally cast for the role Ashley Judd was given.

Production

The bus crash scene was filmed near Ontario's French River. The film's quarry scenes were shot at Elora, Ontario. The church featured in many parts of the film is in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Its black borders were painted white for the film. At the end of the film when it switches to the future, the borders are black. The baseball scene as well as many indoor scenes were filmed in Glen Williams, Ontario.[3]

Soundtrack

Simon Birch features R&B songs from the 1950-60s, as well as four score cues by Marc Shaiman. The original motion picture soundtrack was released on November 24, 1998 on Hollywood Records and Epic Soundtrax:

  1. "You Were There" – Babyface
  2. "Bread and Butter" – The Newbeats
  3. "A Walkin' Miracle" – The Essex*
  4. "Mickey's Monkey" – Smokey Robinson / The Miracles
  5. "Can I Get a Witness" – Marvin Gaye
  6. "Fever" – Peggy Lee
  7. "Up on the Roof" – The Drifters
  8. "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (Part 1)" – James Brown
  9. "The Nitty Gritty" – Shirley Ellis*
  10. "Nowhere to Run" – Martha and the Vandellas
  11. "It's All Right" – The Impressions
  12. "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" – Jackie Wilson*
  13. "Simon's Theme" – Marc Shaiman
  14. "Friends Forever" – Marc Shaiman
  15. "Simon's Birth" – Marc Shaiman
  16. "Life Goes On" – Marc Shaiman

* denotes songs featured on the soundtrack, but not in the film.

Other songs, featured in the film, but not on the soundtrack are:

Reception

Simon Birch holds a 44% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's consensus calling the film "Overly mushy; tries too hard to pull at the heart-strings."[4] On Metacritic, the film has a 39/100 rating, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews."[5]

The film opened at #5 at the North American box office making $3,321,370 in its opening weekend. The film would go on to gross $18,253,415 domestically.[2]

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD on May 18, 1999 (Region 1). The region 1 DVD contains a theatrical trailer for this film.

References

  1. ↑ "SIMON BIRCH (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 1998-10-06. Retrieved 2012-12-20. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Simon Birch at Box Office Mojo
  3. ↑ "Filming Locations for Simon Birch (1998)". The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-01-25. 
  4. ↑ Simon Birch at Rotten Tomatoes
  5. ↑ Simon Birch at Metacritic

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Simon Birch
Films directed by Mark Steven Johnson
Works by John Irving
Novels:
Short story collections:
Children's fiction:
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