Simon Birch

Simon Birch (1998) is an American family drama directed by Mark Steven Johnson — watch it online on iFILM. Simon is eleven years old, barely two feet tall, and completely certain God has something specific planned for him.

His best friend Joe (Joseph Mazzello) has a different problem: he's never known his father, and his mother Rebecca (Ashley Judd) isn't talking. Simon (Ian Michael Smith) insists this will get resolved by destiny. Joe is less sure. Together they navigate a small New England town full of adults who've made peace with uncertainty in ways the boys haven't yet.

The film is loosely based on John Irving's 1989 novel A Prayer for Owen Meany — Irving asked to have his name removed from the credits, which gives you some sense of how free an adaptation it is. Jim Carrey appears briefly as Joe's adult voice. What Johnson kept from Irving is the irreverent theological argument at the heart of the story: that faith looks less like certainty and more like showing up anyway. Stream Simon Birch (1998) online on iFILM.