Simon Birch (1998)

Simon Birch is a 1998 American comedy-drama film loosely based on A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving and directed and written for the screen by Mark Steven Johnson in his directorial debut. The film stars Ian Michael Smith, Joseph Mazzello, Jim Carrey, Ashley Judd and Oliver Platt. It omitted much of the latter half of the novel and altered the ending.

The film does not share the book's title at Irving's request; he did not believe that his novel could successfully be made into a film. The name "Simon Birch" was suggested by him to replace that of Owen Meany. The opening credits of the film state that it was "suggested by" Irving's novel. The main plot centers on 12-year-old Joe Wenteworth and his best friend Simon Birch, who was born with dwarfism.