Synopsis: Simon Birch was born no bigger than a man's fist. Doctors said that he wouldn't live through his first night. He did. Then they said he would not live more than a week. But he did. Weeks turned into months and then those months turned into years, until Simon grew into a boy. He believed that God had a special plan for him and it was His plan to make Simon the way he is. Simon's friend Joe is on a mission of his own. His mother, Rebecca, never told him who his real father is. When his mother takes on a new love interest, Joe is not too excited about the idea as he dreams of meeting his true father someday. One day, Simon, while playing in a Little League baseball game, hits a foul ball that hits Joe's mother, Rebecca, and kills her. Now the secret of Joe's real dad has died along with her. Simon's and Joe's destinies become interwoven in the end, when Simon strives to become the hero he was destined to be and helps Joe solve the mystery of his father.

Cast:
Ian Michael Smith .... Simon Birch
Joseph Mazzello .... Joseph "Joe" Wenteworth
Ashley Judd .... Rebecca Wenteworth
Oliver Platt .... Ben Goodrich
David Strathairn .... Rev. Russell
Dana Ivey .... Grandmother Wenteworth
Beatrice Winde .... Hilde Grove
Jan Hooks .... Miss Leavey
Cecilley Carroll .... Marjorie
Sumela-Rose Keramidopulos .... Ann
Sam Morton .... Stuart
Jim Carrey .... Adult Joe Wenteworth
John Mazzello .... Simon Wenteworth
Holly Dennison .... Mrs. Birch
Peter MacNeill .... Mr. Birch

Favorite Quotes:
• Simon: "I said, what does coffee and donuts have to do with God?"
Rev. Russell: "They're merely refreshments so people can socialize and talk about up coming events."
Simon: "Whoever said church needs a continental breakfast?"

• Rev. Russell: "Simon, what do you think you're doing sitting in a corner?"
Simon: "Thinking about God."
Rev. Russell: "In a corner?"
Simon: "Faith is not in a floor plan."

• Simon: "I've been thinking."
Joe: "Yeah?"
Simon: "Last year we were in the squirt league, and this year we're in the pewee."
Joe: "So?"
Simon: "So what do they want us to do, play baseball or urinate? Anyway, I was just thinking."

• "Sex makes people crazy." - Simon Birch

• "A lefty...just like me." - Rev. Russell

Notes:
• Simon Birch reteamed David with young co-star Joseph Mazzello. The two had previously worked together as father and son in The River Wild and would work together again in The Sensation of Sight and Matters of Life and Death.
• Author John Irving doubted his novel, A Prayer for Owen Meaney, could ever be turned into a film and sold the screen rights on the condition it not be released under the same name as his book. The author himself provided the name Simon Birch for the producers to use in place of Owen Meaney.
• Sandra Bullock was at one point considered for the role of Rebecca Wenteworth. The role eventually went to Ashley Judd, whom David later worked with again in Twisted.

Critical Praise & Commentary:
• "David Strathairn and Jan Hooks play the town's reverend and Sunday school teacher respectively and their contributions uphold the high standards set by the others." -David N. Butterworth, Movie Reviews

• "The Reverend, who has no idea of how to answer even half of Simon's relentless questions about God and faith, is played by veteran character actor David Strathairn." -Paul Clinton, CNN

• "And every performer strikes the right notes of affecting nuance, from Ashley Judd's boundless humanism to David Strathairn's exacting priest..." -Bill DeLapp, Syracuse New Times

• "Mention should be made of David Strathairn, who plays the part of the local minister, and what seems initially a bit part turns into a pivital role. Strathairn carries the part so well that the nature of his character's importance is completely oblivious to the audience until the end." -Dale Jay Dennis, Soundwaves Cinema

• "Only David Strathairn makes any kind of impression as the erring New England minister." -Curtis Edmond, Texas Reviews

• "David Strathairn is the sort of actor you know you've seen somewhere but can't quite place--he slips so completely into his characters that he is different in every film. His performance as Reverend Russell is layered, and as the film progresses, we learn that his exasperation with Simon and Joe stems from more than just the boy's antics. Strathairn takes a role which could easily have been a one-note character and turns him into a complex man we can sympathize with, even as he chastises the heroes." -Ealasaid A. Haas, Movie Reviews

• "The plus side of this movie is heavy with terrific performances. David Strathairn, as a well-meaning preacher at odds with Simon and Joe, does here what he always does--makes his character more complex than he seems." -Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer

• "Platt and Strathairn are their usual excellent selves. Strathairn is particularly affecting in the final reel as the Reverend's past comes back to haunt him." -Pamela's Film and Entertainment Site