Brehm Center

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

- Jeremiah 1:5 (NRSV), quoted in A Prayer for Owen Meany
 

“I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice—not because of his voice or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God.”

-Quoted in “Simon Birch” suggested by the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany

        Being lovers of books and films, we couldn’t resist “Simon Birch,” a film adaptation of John Irving’s novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany.  This despite the fact that seven of the ten critics we surveyed praised the novel but called the film a “promising failure.”   There are those times, and “Simon Birch” is an example, when a film does not fully capture the power of the novel. Perhaps the story’s power is lost in part, because the novel’s explicitly “Christian” worldview is diluted.  (The above quote from the film actually continues in the novel, “I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.”)  However, the basic story of two twelve-year-old best friends (both social misfits in a small New England town in the mid-1960’s) trying to understand life is kept intact. And in the telling, the film wonderfully deals with faith, fate and friendship.  Thus, we felt that while the 500+ page novel might never make it to your bedside nightstand, the film “Simon Birch” should make it to your VCR.

        Born a dwarf, Simon (played by 3-foot-1-inch-tall Ian Michael Smith who actually suffers from Morquio syndrome) is declared a miracle by the doctor delivering him.  And Simon never let’s anyone forget that he is a miracle, and more than the sum of his parts. Moreover, he is sure that God has a plan for his life, (and everyone else’s!), much to the consternation of those around him—his parents, his classmates, his Sunday school teacher, and even the local preacher. His best friend Joe (played by Joseph Mazzello) is also somewhat of an oddity.  But in his case, it has nothing to do with physical appearance. He’s different than all the other kids because his mother (played by Ashley Judd) has raised him out of wedlock, much to the shock of the whole town, and without divulging the identity of the father.

        Thus, the two boys’ contexts and quests set the stage.  Joe longs to find his father. Simon is determined to find God’s plan for his life.  Together, the two boys celebrate and mourn the mysteries of their respective search. And in the process Simon continues to challenge himself and others to believe. “I want to know there is a reason for things. I want you to tell me God has a plan for me, for all of us.”  When not only Reverend Russell, but most of the town, is unable and even afraid to trust God as Simon does, it is up to him to communicate faith to all, and particularly to Joe.  “I have faith; the problem with you is you don’t have faith.  Faith is not in a floorplan.”   Only a real friend could challenge another to faith in such a way.  And the result is Joe’s spiritual and emotional growth.

        “Simon Birch” is an unabashedly sentimental tearjerker, much less complex and nuanced than the novel.  The two boys succeed in their quests, although in somewhat predictable ways.  As Joe narrates at the end of the movie, “with Simon’s help I found my real father.”  But his words carry far more meaning than that of biological father. And Simon, convinced that “I’m God’s instrument; there are no accidents,” does indeed become a hero in the hands of the Creator. 

        The complexity of the movie’s plot has been reduced from the novel, but the characters are nonetheless winsome. Their banter and escapades are often raucously funny (the Christmas pageant with Simon as the baby Jesus is a combination of a Sunday school teacher’s worst nightmare and slapstick).  As Roger Ebert reflected about this film he suggested, “We go to the movies for lots of reasons, and one of them is to seek good company.”  Simon and Joe are so likeable, you are glad to be eavesdropping on them.

        Take your family to see “Simon Birch” and you will have plenty to talk about regarding the themes of family, of dealing with the loss of a loved one or with physical disabilities, and with trusting in God’s plan for each one of us.  But most of all you will be in good company!