Simon Birch . Newcity Chicago . 09-14-98

Simon Birch

DIRECTED BY: Mark Steven Johnson

REVIEWED: 09-14-98

A first feature from Mark Steven Johnson, the writer of "Grumpy Old Men" and "Grumpier Old Men" is "suggested" by John Irving's novel, "A Prayer for Owen Meany," which means that Irving didn't want the film called an "adaptation" after reading the script. It's easy to see why: a typical Irving cornucopia of incident, led by a small boy who never grows (a la "The Tin Drum") is impishly transformed into a Catskills comic reborn in the body of a child actor with a form of dwarfism. Sudden death, nasty clergymen, nastier Sunday school teachers and long afternoons at the ol' swimmin' hole repeatedly yukking it up over the effect of icy water on testicles follow. There are sparks of charm, but "Simon Birch" is mostly the kind of clumsy, shameless drool that made me itch for a few hours in a dark room by myself. Marc Shaiman's awful music completes the recipe for those who hadn't fully digested the Nutrasweet in the script, performances and direction. With Joseph Mazzello, David Straithairn, Oliver Platt, Jan Hooks, and Jim Carrey. Ashley Judd, a gleaming incarnation of sensual yet sensible fifties motherhood, is on screen almost as briefly as narrator Carrey.

--Ray Pride

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Simon Birch
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