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Simon Birch

Play trailer Poster for Simon Birch PG Released Sep 11, 1998 1h 53m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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44% Tomatometer 32 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Simon Birch (Ian Michael Smith) and Joe Wenteworth (Joseph Mazzello) are boys who have a reputation for being oddballs. Joe never knew his father, and his mother, Rebecca (Ashley Judd), is keeping her lips sealed, no matter how much he protests. Simon, meanwhile, is an 11-year-old dwarf whose outsize personality belies his small stature. Indeed, he often assails the local reverend (David Strathairn) with thorny theological questions and joins Joe on his quest to find his biological father.
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Simon Birch

Simon Birch

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Critics Consensus

Overly mushy; tries too hard to pull at the heart-strings.

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Critics Reviews

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Globe and Mail Rated: 1/4 Apr 12, 2002 Full Review USA Today Rated: 2.5/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Simon Birch is an unabashedly sentimental tearjerker. Either you stand back and resist it, or you plunge in. There was something about its innocence and spunk that got to me, and I caved in. Rated: 3/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Film Threat Rated: 2.5/5 Dec 6, 2005 Full Review Leonard Schwarz Palo Alto Weekly Rated: 1.5/4 May 20, 2003 Full Review John R. McEwen Film Quips Online Rated: 4/5 Feb 8, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jerod S Simon was born small and lived 'special' for his entire life. Things change when the mom he never had gets hit by a baseball and dies. It might be mushy - but it has smiles and values built in. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/25/24 Full Review Maggie S I LOVE this movie. I don’t need to write something longwinded about it. I have seen it many many times! It’s just one of the movies, I am so thankful they made. So good xo Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/30/24 Full Review isla s This is very much a family film, one with a fair dosage of sentimentality, cheese and cliche. This isn't always a bad thing and there is something somehow comforting about it, even though you can guess most of what happens. Its an easy, light watch and it won't likely offend or upset people, which is a good thing I guess. It's not exactly memorable or particularly good but its a fairly decent watch - I wouldn't outright recommend it as such but there are certainly worse films out there, so, I'll leave it up to you whether you should bother to see it or not. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Seriously, F the so-called “critics”. This movie is wonderful. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/11/21 Full Review Audience Member This movie is moving AF. Sick of these depressed reviewers who think that movies have to be pretentious to be noteworthy. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review steve d Melodramatic mess that doesn't forget to laugh at groping. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Simon Birch

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Simon Birch

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Movie Info

Synopsis Simon Birch (Ian Michael Smith) and Joe Wenteworth (Joseph Mazzello) are boys who have a reputation for being oddballs. Joe never knew his father, and his mother, Rebecca (Ashley Judd), is keeping her lips sealed, no matter how much he protests. Simon, meanwhile, is an 11-year-old dwarf whose outsize personality belies his small stature. Indeed, he often assails the local reverend (David Strathairn) with thorny theological questions and joins Joe on his quest to find his biological father.
Director
Mark Steven Johnson
Producer
Roger Birnbaum
Screenwriter
Mark Steven Johnson, John Irving
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co
Hollywood Pictures
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 11, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$18.3M
Runtime
1h 53m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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