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.
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mheller-125 January 2003
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sandlot19922 February 2021In 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.
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Stapleton101821 January 2003This sweet and touching adaptation of Truman Capote's coming-of-age short story takes place in 1947 Alabama. The cinematography, locations, and music skillfully help set the stage for a time when reading books or listening to the radio were a major source of entertainment. World War II veterans were attempting to return to their former lives, war-widows were still dealing with their losses, and Jim Crow was a legal reality. Into this setting steps Lily Jane Bobbit, a 13-year old with ideas of her own as to how the world should work.
The story includes the blush of first love, friendships that see no colors, and actions and words that come from the heart. In this era of movies relying heavily on violence, profanity, car chases, and sex to hold your interest, this movie is a refreshing change of pace. It's a lovingly crafted film that's a treat for the whole family. -
If you love Capote, and if you love his whimsical, dark, comic short story "Children on Their Birthdays", DO NOT WATCH this unfaithful and insulting adaptation. The writers and producers have turned Mr. C's insightful piece on the role of the artist in society into melodramatic slop touching on a wishy-washy childhood crush and a stale, lukewarm statement on prejudice and race. Gone are the biting satire, insight, clever language, and punch-in-the-gut beginning and ending sentences of the original piece replaced by a made-for-TV generic script and story that bare little if any resemblance to the source material.
Capote when he died asked to be cremated, half his ashes interned on the west coast and half on the east so that he could be throughout eternity be bi-coastal. Though he can't roll in his grave, his ashes are surely undulating in their urns in California and New York after this disgrace bearing the name of one his most wonderful and cherished short stories. -
saved4eternity25 August 2006I 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.
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HPHPlayers4 March 2005This is a great Truman Capote story about a grifter that gets away with stealing money from poor country folk and an odd little girl who gets run over by the bus that's supposed to take her to Hollywood. It also contains perceptive observations about race relations in Depression era Alabama.
The movie version has the horrible moppet catch the bad guy, return the stolen loot and get on the bus for fame and fortune. To add insult to injury Celine Dion sings over the closing credits. The racial themes are all but obliterated.
Fans of Capote be warned that none of his wit or satire was retained for this film that plays like an after-school special. -
jerrywilson14 March 2004I rented the DVD because I was simply in the mood to watch a movie, and I'd seen almost everything else new that hadn't already been rented out. So I gave "Children on Their Birthdays" a shot, not expecting too much.
I was surprised to discover that I really enjoyed it. In fact, the day after I had watched it, I found myself thinking about the characters and smiling. So I bought the DVD and have watched it several times since then.
I won't go into a detailed description, because that's already been done. But the characters are endearing. Despite a forced southern accent by Miss Lily Jane Bobbit, she is still the centerpiece of the movie. All the children performed wonderfully.
The movie is a study in contrasts: Honesty vs. dishonesty, rural vs. urban, child vs. adult, etc. Overall, it's a movie deserving of a higher rating than it has received.
I gave it an 8. -
M. David10 December 2002It is difficult to tell if any member of the production company responsible for this appalling movie, ever read Truman Capote's original short story. The short story had at its center a delightfully willful heroine whose good deeds were only incidental to her self-centeredness. In more skillful hands, this wicked piece of literature could have reached the screen as a spare little piece of Southern Gothic. What the filmmakers chose instead to do was to turn Miss Lily Jane Bobbit into Pollyanna, the classic little do-gooder. It is not as if I am unaware of the eternal conflict between people's images and recollections of the printed word and what Hollywood ends up putting on the screen. Truman Capote himself called "Breakfast at Tiffany's", his most popular screen adaptation, a "mawkish valentine to Audrey Hepburn". (He later recanted that opinion, by the way.) Probably the best example of the expression "the movie captured the spirit of the book" occurred with "To Kill a Mockingbird", a production which recognized that source material needs to be treated with honesty and respect. Disappointments are inevitable, but a good adaptation requires just that -- honesty and respect. This production of "Children on Their Birthdays" not only lacks those qualities, but it also lacks good taste, while at every turn is busy making everything politically correct. My only solace in all this is that this picture will never receive a wide theatrical release, and will only be seen on video. It is too much to hope that this thing would just be shelved.
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Cipher-J17 June 2003Somewhere, in an alternate reality, it could be possible for a 13-year-old girl to have the wisdom of a Socrates, the social awareness of a Martin Luther King, the vocabulary and diction of a college professor, and the grace and beauty of an Audrey Hepburn. On the other hand, putting adult lines in the mouth of a child is usually done for satire. Situation comedies often depend for their gags on having kids speak smart-alecky lines. Hearing wisecracks from a kid that no kid would ever think of makes us laugh, and that's why the formula works. In this case, however, it isn't a comedy, and the lines written for the child are not intended to be amusing.
Of course, no such alternate world exists, but what if it did? And what if such a girl turned up in the reality of a small southern town circa 1947? She would be as foreign and alien to that locality as if she had come from another universe, and in that sense becomes a kind of allegorical figure of redemption. It is presented as a "coming of age" film, but this is not just a story about the normal agonies of growing up. There is a "Twilight Zone" quality to the character of the girl. There are two boys who are "supposed" to be her age, and hence there is a sub-plot concerned with their feelings for her. But psycho-emotionally she is light-years more mature than they, and that is a point most reviewers seem to miss. It isn't so much about youth growing up over a case of first love, but a myth about a daughter of the gods sojourning among the mortals for a season.
Truman Capote, who wrote the original short-story from which this film was adapted, was something of a heretic, and it is tempting to speculate on what the screenwriter might have been thinking in regard to this character. For example: What if Jesus came back in 1947 in the form of a little girl? Wouldn't "that" be a surprise? Not that there is anything about the story to suggest such a "religious" quality, but the character of the girl is clearly mythical in comparison to her alleged contemporaries. She comes into town mysteriously, there are miraculous events associated with her actions, she is wise beyond her years and even the elders are astonished by her words. It is a different story, and a pretty good one as well. -
muffinswirls333318 August 2004I couldn't stand the pesky Lily Jane Bobbit. I'm glad this movie was just an independent film and not a major one. The movie was also dull and unrealistic and I almost fell asleep while watching this film. The other characters of this film were fine but Lily Jane Bobbit was merely insufferable. She is maybe the worst movie character ever. I'm outraged to know that this movie is available on DVD and has also been shown on cable television! It would be wonderful if this movie was never filmed or created!
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cutebear6 March 2005This movie is so good. You can relate sort of to the lives of Lily Jane and Billy Bob. It is a story of love, life, and scheming. My recommendation is to watch it.The movie is about a little girl(Lily Jane) who comes to live in the small town Medda. The story kicks off as soon as her to-be friends start to try to court her. She finds her only true love is to go to Hollywood. When a scheming crook comes to town and holds a talent show and the prize is a trip to Hollywood. Lily Jane enters and wins only to find out that the crook was lying. Lily Jane, Rosalba Cat, and Billy Bob go and arrest Mr. Quincy. You really need to watch this movie to find out if it is for you. Lily Jane is like Vanity Fair's Becky Sharp, witty, charming, and creative.
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sweetness33121 November 2003This was a good movie.
However, I felt that the role of "Lily Jane Bobbit" was miscast. The actress who played her, Tania Raymonde, seems to be much more suitable to play the role of a tomboy instead. She looks more suitable to play tough&rough roles, for she looks boyish. Tania Raymonde playing Lily Jane Bobbit simply doesn't match! The role of Lily Jane Bobbit seemed less convincing and plausible because of this. Despite the nice wardrobe they made her wear in this movie and all of the professional makeup they put on her face, the character Bobbit still wasn't convincing. -
Sherazade30 April 2006I enjoyed this film, it was very well written, beautifully cast and stunningly set. I don't understand why people rated it badly. It's the story of a southern town forced to confront its own racists and unfair ways when a lovely and angelic young mixed-race girl (played by Tania Raymonde) moves into town with her mute mother and steals their hearts. The main characters are two young boys (played by Joe Pichler and Jesse Plemons) who both fall in love with the young spitfire. This is a classic tale of coming-of-age as well as unrequited love in more ways than one. The only fault I found within the film was the LIPSYNCHING scene in which Raymonde pretends to sing the beautiful 'I have to dream' song sung by Celine Dion and Jennifer Newman Sharpe. They should have taught the girl to sing that number in her own voice.
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ihouri000023 June 2004This movie was shallow and cotton-candy like. I agree with the reviewer who wrote a review in another website who said that he has a "fantasy that every copy of this movie will magically disappear." I have that same wish. Many other films are more worthwhile to see than this film, which was focused on an extremely pompous and obnoxiously showy teenage girl.
This nuisance(the actress who played Lily Jane Bobbit) did a lousy job in this movie, she did such a terrible job faking a southern accent. The movie was overall corny but she was even worse. She tried to cover up her lack of acting talent in this movie with pretentiousness and a pompous display. This girl is very pretentious and shallow and conceited! I think all she wants to do on-screen is show-off. Save room on TV and film for real, genuine people talented in acting please!(instead of her) -
bababear15 September 2011Watching a movie like this that turns out to be a disaster is a strange experience. It's "based" on one of Truman Capote's early short stories. Well, it has the title and characters and setting. The story? Bits and pieces of it.
What's good= If there were an Oscar given for Best Location Scout, this would have won it. The houses and stores are amazing and there are lots of old cars. There's also some great (with the exception of a Celine Dion song that comes out of nowhere) music, using lots of songs from the Big Band era. Ditto costumes and hairstyles.
What's bad= Almost everything else. There are too many situations that had me and Mrs. Bear simply rolling our eyes. But the worst thing is the heavy "Southern" accents the actors have. On stage, they could have gotten away with this. But film is a terribly unforgiving medium in that you've got actors standing on real streets in front of real houses. Director Mark Medoff is a hugely talented writer, having won a Tony Award for CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD. What possessed a writer from Illinois, shooting in great locations in his home state, to think he could handle the speech patterns of the rural South? I recently saw an independent film called NOBLE THINGS, which was set and filmed in the Beaumont, Texas, area. Because its director couldn't afford a lot of Hollywood actors he hired actors from Houston and Beaumont and their speech patterns were natural and unaffected.
At best, CHILDREN ON THEIR BIRTHDAYS is a noble effort gone bad. At worst, its abject financial failure (less than $60 thousand returned on a $10 million investment, although it made some more return on investment through DVD and cable)gives Hollywood an excuse to pump out more sequels, more unwanted remakes, and more ultra violent comic book movies. Maybe I should go back and reduce that rating of 3 even lower. -
I confess I did not make it through this film. The Truman Capote short story is a perfect little blend of cruel satire and genuine nostalgia; this movie only gets the "nostalgia" part, and does it in ways we've all seen before. Everything is shot in deep, super-saturated color and you can predict everyone's lines a couple of seconds before they emerge from the actors' mouths. After a very few minutes, I realized that the adapter/director Mark Medoff intended to convert all that was good in the story into "inspirational" treacle for the family-film trade (complete with one of the most maudlin movie scores ever) and I skipped to the end to see if, at any rate, the movie would have the courage to honor the short story's pitiless conclusion (without which it has no point at all). Of course, it didn't. Lily-Jane's final "wistful" closeup (as the bus doors shut on her face) might kindly be called nauseating.
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I stumbled on 'Children' on TV yesterday. Became totally engrossed in the story and by the end found myself crying for those years of innocence lost and not sure what young Americans have gained. This is a film for those who want to look back through a rosy lens and see ourselves as we wish we were. It may not be Truman's story but he would have enjoyed it. I was brought up in the North in the 40's, 50', and 60's and did not experience the discrimination that Truman did. But for the rest--it's my mom, my dad, my neighbors and me.
Thanks to the producers for breathing life into this story. -
btchslappa72321 January 2003This was probably the best movie of 2002 and I've seen a lot this year. This movie had it all. A Bunch of Stars , the girl from "Malcom in the Middle", Weston Mueller from "One on One" , TWO boys from "Varsity Blues" and a bunch more... there is even Sheryl Lee, Tom Arnold and Christopher Mcdonald. Plus its a really funny movie. Its a new classic and brings a tear to the eye. It would make Truman Capote proud! So go see this movie. And there is a Celine Dion song at the end that you cant find any where else....
So See it and Enjoy it!! : ) Peter -
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."
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herbqedi17 May 2004I noticed the title and blurb on Showtime In Demand as I was just looking for something to watch. My wife and I have enjoyed several other pieces (the Grass Harp, A Christmas Memory based on Capote's work, and it also looked like the type of movie we could enjoy with our grandkids. But, never did it occur to me that this would turn out to be the best film I've seen since A Beautiful Mind. It turns out that Children On Their Birthdays is a very special film.
The first thing about this unheralded masterpiece that grabbed me was the score -- an ideal score for this idyllic fable. The next thing is the town, the fields, the swimming hole, the clothes -- all the visuals that make the town come so utterly alive -- every color and fabric evocative of this picaresque southern town in 1947. Next, the exposition of the characters, introduced through various vignettes, gives us insights to a dozen interesting townsfolk who we recognize and care about. Sheryl Lee Diamond is incredibly dead on as Billy Bob's mother -- Billy Bob being the lead character. The young actor playing Preacher, however, steals every scene he is in. Christopher MacDonald plays the sturdy Speedy with just the right hint of uncertainty. And, Tom Arnold is perfectly cast as the dapper con man who almost takes the life out of the town -- if not for our heroine -- and good ol' Preacher. The nuances at the town talent show and at the Country Fair sequences were also perfect. Another casting coup was getting Phyllis Frelich to play the role of the mute Mrs. Bobbitt.
I think Children On Their Birthdays is a magnificent film with unexpectedly high production values. I highly recommend it. -
joeestlinbm18 February 2005Lillie Jane Bobbit is one of the most beautiful young ladies I've ever seen. Its no wonder the boys went bonkers over her. Truman Capote proved his genius on the particular story. The rivalry between the two boys, who had been best friends was for lack of a better word vicious. Rosalba Cat who turned out to be Lillies best friend, played her part perfectly, I hope to see her in more movies. As the story goes, a shady character held a bogus talent contest,and the folks of the town of Medda Alabama were cheated out of a lot of money. Billy Bob, Lilly Jane,Preacher Star, and Rosalba, who were the kids involved took it on themselves to capture the criminal. Wheather they were successful or not will be up to your willingness to watch the movie. I can tell you that Billy Bob, and Preacher Star, did become best friends again.
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Karlknight24 February 2005This was a movie the whole family can watch. It is refreshing to see a movie that was very entertaining without an "R" Rating. I think the movie was fun. It had romance, comedy, drama, sadness all done well. The relationship between the characters had great romantic chemistry without being sexual. There were many funny parts such as when the kids were driving the truck and caught up to the crooks. There was drama when the townspeople loaded into trucks to go on a hunting spree, but there were no shot fired and bloodshed. It was sad when everyone was waiting for the transportation to Hollywood and the Pastor came and gave her the book. The movie reminded me of a simpler time when the town mechanic is also the sheriff and you call the police for missing roses.
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DaviePark28 January 2003Truman Capote's spinning in his grave? Well I haven't read the original story but I was enthralled with this movie!
I can tell you that I loved this film from start to finish. The casting appeared to be ideal - I can't think of anyone else that I would recommend to replace any of the characters in this heart-warming tale. I watched it with my 12 year-old daughter and you know when kids aren't really interested they start moving about, get restless, etc? Now hear this - this is a "No Fidget" film - take the family! At the risk of being clichéd, they don't make 'em like this any more. It captures innocence from what, compared to today, was an innocent age even though it was set only fifty or so years ago. I came away knowing that some of the feel-good factor of this little parable had rubbed off on me, my wife and our daughter. So much so, that I wouldn't tell you the ending anyway! Go, see, enjoy. -
rybonucleic21 January 2003`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.
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FilmLabRat31 January 2003This film holds up contrasts between urban and rural cultures, courage and passivity, childhood and adulthood, other-centeredness and self-centeredness, dealing with many issues of life and perspectives in an inspiring, tasteful way. Miss Lily Jane Bobbit is an interesting character that evokes curiosity throughout the story. Great movie for the whole family.