Best movie ever!

As Good As It Gets

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I had to read A Prayer for Owen Meany for AP English, and we watched this movie in class. We have a seminar coming soon that asks "Why do you think John Irving didn't want the name of his book to be attached to this movie?" If you both read the book and watched the movie, it's pretty easy to see why...Basically, the movie trivializes the most important parts of the book, or just doesn't include them at all (where are the three cousins???) The scene where Joe's mom is killed by Simon's baseball is almost laughable because of how cheesy it is, what with its slow motion and everyone's shocked expressions. The scene with the bus crash is even worse because of how...unrealistic it is. There's an entire scene about how Simon can hold his breath for an unnaturally long time, yet he couldn't make it out of the bus when it went under? Really? Owen's death scene in the book (which is completely different from the one in the movie, aside from the fact that he was saving a group of children in both of them) was emotional and literally tied the ENTIRE story together. This, though...it asks more questions than it answers.Adding on to the cheesiness, the kid that plays Joe is a really, REALLY bad actor, and I just can't take him seriously, especially when he acts sad about finding out who his father is or when Simon gets out of the bus. However, the kid that played Simon did a very good job and made for a pretty memorable character. Really, the only other roles in the movie with good actors were the Sunday school teacher and Joe's mother.The only reason this gets more than a 1 is because the movie does have some pretty funny parts, mostly the Christmas pageant scene. Overall though, this really isn't a good movie. It might be okay if you watch it alone, but it simply has nothing on the book. If you liked the movie, I guarantee you that the book is 100 times better.

Having seen, and been somewhat dissatisfied with, The Cider House Rules and The World According to Garp, I was, as I've previously remarked on this very site, pretty much convinced that the novels of John Irving are inherently unfilmable. Simon Birch, billed as "suggested by" A Prayer for Owen Meany—my favourite Irving, and perhaps even favourite novel—is so titled at Irving's request, so different he felt were the stories.Showing the titular character's grave at the film's beginning, Simon Birch follows its namesake from birth to death. Extremely small, shrilly-voiced, and devoutly religious, Simon believes himself to be "God's instrument", put upon the earth in his unusual form for a distinct purpose.Firstly, I feel the need to vent. What is it with Irving adaptations and this horrid reliance on saccharine music? It's so bloody cliché it makes me want to weep with frustration, tear my hair out, and howl for hours. Now that that's said, shall we move on? Commendations firstly to star and one time actor Ian Michael Smith, who delivers a convincing, humorous, and persuasive performance as the zealous young Simon. Indeed the entire cast is solidly... well, cast. A special mention is reserved for Oliver Platt, whose character's original literary basis was a favourite who seemed misrepresented at first, but was eventually realised well in Platt's performance—a considerable task I assure you. It's not difficult to see why Irving declined to permit the usage of his character's names, the plot taking a complete turn about halfway through the film. This turn makes sense, given the time restrictions of a feature film compared to a novel, though it leaves the former considerably less impactful than the latter. The movie offers a story which moves steadily forward, honouring the book for as long as the two overlap. The relationship between the young characters at the film's heart is well appropriated, Joe's fondness for his minuscule friend articulated through the nuances of their dialogue as well as the actors' respective performances. It's in the last act of the film that it loses itself, the inevitable foreseen incident—beautifully constructed in the novel—poorly brought to fruition. One understands the reason behind changing the ending to this, but it ought to have been handled with much more grace. Plot holes emerge, grow, and eventually suck the film into them, so distracting are they from the poignancy of the drama. Yet, that said, the drama loses poignancy all of its own at this point anyway. The ending—I am permitted to reveal it is Simon's death; the film begins with a shot of his gravestone including dates—feels shoved in to align with the book. I found myself wondering why exactly the boy had died, no sufficiently decent reason offered by the film. The ending places a severe blemish on the rest of the film, marred particularly in no small part due to the final overly sentimental return to the graveside.Starting out well, inasmuch as it follows more or less exactly the book's path, Simon Birch shows promise of a decent childhood drama. It maintains this facade for some time, before the ending finally exposes it for the lacking piece it—rather unfortunately—is. There is a gaping chasm of narrative quality between the two halves, no doubt the result of adapting just half a book; the latter section demonstrating wildly its inferior writing. Nevertheless, the film has its merits, for which it is worthy of viewing and appreciation.

This was a good dramedy (comedy, drama). I liked the actors. It's about this boy named Simon Birch (Ian Michael Smith, in his debut and only role as an actor) who is very diminutive and is a misfit. His parents totally ignore him. His best friend Joe Wenteworth (Joesph Mazzello) is always by his side no matter what. He is secretly in love with Rebecca (Ashley Judd), his friend's mom. They're in baseball together and go to the lake together and he also secretly likes Marjorie (Cecilly Carroll). The funny part of the movie is when Simon says 'Boobs' to Majorie and yanks her down then she kicks Joe in the balls. The sad part is... I cannot say it. It will spoil it to people who haven't seen it. So rent it, watch it, laugh, cry and if you love it, own it. XD.

SPOILERS This movie was unbearable to watch. At every possible moment, the movie manipulates you. Most of the things in this movie are extremely improbable, for example, is it even physically possible to die from being hit in the head with a baseball? The kids are bad actors and most of the adults overact. There are many huge plot flaws. For example, I don't think that Joe wouldn't have been mad at all that Simon killed his mom. the movie was also really, really sappy. Most of the dialog was very clichéd and the characters are all one dimensional. The jokes between Simon and Joe are so bad that it is unbearable to watch them and it makes me squirm to hear them.