Simon Birch and Joe Wenteworth are boys who have a reputation for being oddballs. Joe never knew his father, and his mother, Rebecca, 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 with thorny theological questions and joins Joe on his quest to find his biological father.
Acting
Ian Michael Smith's towering screen presence.
Writing
Theological sass that would make Sorkin jealous.
Score
Marc Shaiman manipulates your tear ducts expertly.
Director
Mark Steven Johnson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ian Michael Smith had Morquio syndrome, making this his only film role. Hollywood wasn't ready for actual disabled actors then—shocker.
Mark Steven Johnson adapted this from John Irving's 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' but stripped the Vietnam draft-dodging and Reagan satire. The novel's political teeth got pulled for feel-good cinema.
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