SIMON BIRCH

You should see Simon Birch if you want a warm, spiritually serious story about two boys who feel like outsiders and discover that God’s purposes are larger than they can see. The film celebrates faith in God, friendship, family, grace, mercy, and the possibility that even a small person can make a great difference.

The movie is not spotless. It contains more obscenities and profanities than expected for a PG film, along with an inappropriate moment involving a Christmas play. There is also mild violence, adult alcohol use, adult smoking, and rebellious behavior.

Still, the film’s Christian worldview is unusually direct and compassionate. Older children and adults can come away encouraged to trust God, love their neighbors, and remain faithful even when religious leaders disappoint them. For families with older children, Simon Birch is worth seeing.

Twelve-year-old Simon Birch believes God has made him special and intends to use him as a hero. His best friend, Joe, is searching for the identity of his biological father.

As the boys grow up in a small town, they face loneliness, questions about faith, complicated family relationships, and the failures of adults around them. Their friendship becomes central to a remarkable story about purpose, love, and grace.

Four stars means this is an exceptional family drama. Simon Birch is spiritually intuitive, well acted, charming, and moving. Its story explores friendship, faith, family, and the human condition with uncommon sensitivity.

The film’s strongest qualities are its sincere Christian themes and its memorable central friendship. The performances are also a major strength, including Oliver Platt’s fine work. The result is a spiritually thoughtful film that treats grace and mercy as living realities rather than empty ideas.

Simon Birch presents a strong Christian worldview centered on faith in God, prayer, church attendance, Scripture, gratitude, love, and the belief that God has a purpose for each person. Simon’s faith remains steady even when Christian leaders disappoint him. The film portrays some religious leaders negatively, but it also shows that they can grow in compassion and become more Christ-like.

The movie presents Simon as a modern-day Zacchaeus: short in stature, disliked by society, and visited by God. He challenges religious leaders who possess position and knowledge but lack compassion. His faith resembles childlike trust, not because he has no questions, but because he continues to believe while asking them.

The film also values family and fatherhood. Joe searches for his biological father but also discovers a father figure. Rebecca shows motherly love toward Simon, while Ben Goodrich shows fatherly love toward Joe. The story gives a positive, if unspoken, endorsement to adoption.

The film’s central longing is for God’s purpose and faithful love. Scripture says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1).

Simon Birch is a charming, moving film about uncommon friendship and uncommon faith. Its language and a few inappropriate behaviors call for parental awareness, but its central message honors grace, mercy, love, and trust in God. For older children and adults, WORTH THE TRIP.