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SIMON BIRCH is a slow-go. Though screenwriter-turned-director Mark Steven Johnson (GRUMPY OLD MEN) is no slouch in the shameless man- ipulation department, he telegraphs most of the more tumultuous plot points. (Given the number of sniffles heard at last Satur- day's sneak preview, that ain't gonna be a problem for most.) Jim Carrey's straight-faced narration doesn't help matters, either. He just makes the movie-- about a wise-beyond-his-years young dwarf-- sound that much more like a feature-length episode of "The Wonder Years." Starring 11-year old newcomer Ian Michael Smith as the title character, with Joesph Mazzello, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt, David Strathairn, Dana Ivey, and nearly unrecognizable Jan Hooks. Loosely adapted from (or as the credits say "suggested by") John Irvin's novel "A Prayer For Owen Meany." (Rated "PG-13"/113 min.) Grade: C+ Copyright 1998 Michael J. Legeros Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros
Originally posted to triangle.movies as
MOVIE HELL: September 3, 1998