monday movie...

seeing that i've been in a blogging rut for many months, i've decided to make some changes...mainly in what i post. call it a new year's resolution, but i'm going to TRY and blog five times a week. yeah, i know..."HA!" don't fret though, there actually is a method to this perhaps unachievable madness!

...a schedule.

every monday on the son of diggin', the blog topic will be a movie. now, the chosen 'monday movie' will just be potpourri - no theme, no reason, etc. if i haven't gone out for a movie...or watched our netflixx selection...then it may be something i've caught on the tube...or even one that i have memories of. i figure i usually end up blogging about a movie once in a while, so why not make it a regular thing? after all, i would only have to think of 52 movies this way ;) and if i've rated (not reviewed) nearly 500 movies on netflixx, i've got plenty of cinematic fodder, right?

today's movie is (drum roll please):

good ol' Simon Birch, that feelgood movie that starred the little kid from Jurassic Park and a tremendous actor by the name of Ian Michael Smith.

Simon Birch is the story of two twelve year-olds who have become best friends due to their black sheep circumstances. Simon is the town freak, a dwarf who is a rabblerouser. His sarcastic tirades at church make him an undesirable amongst parishoners. His small stature has given him pragmatic license to look at life through tactless glasses. Joe, his best friend, is the town 'bastard.' His mother, the very hot Ashley Judd, has promised to tell him who his mystery father is when he's old enough. However, Joe is the impatient type. He would rather sit on the ice cream parlor's steps w/ Simon, pointing out who (on the street of this one stoplight town) could be his father and why. It's life in a small town during the early 60's. Simon and Joe are just kids who are reaching that point of puberty where playing w/ toy soldiers gives way to noticing growing breasts on female classmates and to realizing that with their maturing minds, childhood innocence will soon end.

At the very heart of this 1998 classic is the strength of friendship and belief that every human being has a higher purpose in life than what everyone else has in mind. It's all about believing in yourself and sticking to your guns, no matter the obstacle.

This movie never fails to make me cry. Sure, it's formulaic - the classic underdog protagonist who overcomes. Nevertheless, feelgood movies make good escapes from the fucked up world we live in. I believe they prevent us from going off on pessimistic binges and remind us of how good life really is.

We all need a dose of Simon Birch in our everyday lives...it is such a good reality check ;)