Children on Their Birthdays

It's hard to say what any deceased writer would do, but this very much alive viewer felt the movie was beautifully made with simple style and gentle awareness towards its subjects. I loved watching this movie and escaping into the world of Lilly Jane Bobbitt. After seeing this movie, I re-read the short story by Capote and enjoyed remembering what I had seen recreated by the producers and director. Hollywood thinks if you blow it up they'll come. But, I believe if you make a wonderful film, they'll not only come, but they will leave wanting more - and that's how I felt about Mark Medoff's movie "Children on Their Birthdays."

`Children on their Birthdays' is not meant to tax your cranium or exercise your sense of adventure; rather, to take you on a gentle stroll through the (not quite) coming of age of four thirteen-year-olds in 1940's Alabama. Joe Pichler and Jesse Plemmons demonstrate some real versatility in portraying the two young friends/rivals and Tania Raymonde delivers a dose of the same smarts and mystery she's done on TV in "Malcolm in the Middle". You can take your young kids to this one. It supplies plenty of tenderness and a little slapstick as the kids and the town get mixed around with romance, snake oil, some amazingly hardy roses and a really fine old red tow truck.

My wife and I saw this film at a private showing in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Festival. We thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a delightful, amusing and entertaining movie with a hard edge to it which gives added depth to the story and the period setting. We thought that it was extremely well acted - and special praise must go to the children themselves - very well directed with fine camera work which enriched to period atmosphere. We think audiences will enjoy it greatly.

I remember being so disappointed that this film never made it into my local theater after seeing the trailer for it played there more than once. Obviously, the theater management did not think such a sweet film, an innocent film, could capture much of an audience. They were wrong. It captured me wholeheartedly. Not only is the movie cinematically beautiful, with a small town backdrop much like that in My Dog Skip, but the characters seem to have been dropped right out of the 1940's. Yes, some might call it schmaltzy, sugary, even overdone in some respects. Lily Jane's overdone accent I found particularly annoying. But Hollywood has done its best to give us the dark side, the horrific side, the characters filled with malice and malevolence. I find this film so refreshing and well acted as well. Using mostly unknowns makes the film feel even more comfortable. The characters are on an even playing field and each contributes more than his share. Children on Their Birthdays tells a simple story of growing up, mending fences, finding our way in a world which can be a very cynical place. But the children here give us hope that if their innocence can translate into tenderheartedness as adults, maybe we have a shot at a better tomorrow after all.

In the classic tradition of "Stand By Me", "the Man on the Moon" and "My Dog Skip, "Children on their Birthdays" is truly yet to become a new instant classic for years to come and one family/drama movie that's worth checking out based off Truman Capote's classic short story. the story is brilliant, the characters are very good and the cast is astounding including Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks), Christopher Macdonald (Happy Gilmore), Tom Arnold (True Lies) and former child actor Joe Pichler in his final film before his disappearance in 2006, and Tania Raymonde in her film debut as well! this movie definitely has touching, moving, sweet and elevating scenes including Lily Jane Bobbit singing "I have to Dream" in one scene during the Talent Show and one scene where Billy Bob's Mother teaching him dance steps while listening to Big Band music during the Post-World War 2 America which is quite good, and so I recommend checking this family/drama movie out even if your born and raised in Alabama and those who are raised in the Southern United States as well.