Children on Their Birthdays (2002)

12 year old Lily Bobbit moves to Medda, Ala, and immediately makes an impression on the residents when she and her friends team up to outsmart a con man, the town is changed forever.

Director:

Mark Medoff

Writers:

Truman Capote (short story), Douglas Sloan

Stars:

Sheryl Lee, Christopher McDonald, Tom Arnold

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sheryl Lee	...	Elinore Murphy (as Sheryl Lee Diamond)
Christopher McDonald	...	Speedy Thorne
Tom Arnold	...	Lionel Quince
Joe Pichler	...	Billy Bob Murphy
Tania Raymonde	...	Lily Jane Bobbit
Jesse Plemons	...	Preacher Star
Phyllis Frelich	...	Mrs. Bobbit
Brazhal Brewer	...	Rosalba Cat
Marilyn Dodds Frank	...	Mrs. Quince
Ritch Brinkley	...	Acey Trump
Lucina Paquet	...	Mrs. Sawyer
Paul Quaintance	...	Pastor Williams
Caitlin Collins	...	Janice
Emily Clibourn	...	Cora Mae
Cynthia Baker	...	Ada Willingham (as Cynthia Barker)

Storyline

In the summer of 1947, a mysterious thirteen-year-old girl, accompanied by her mute mother, seemingly appears from nowhere. When two thirteen-year-old boys fall deeply in love with her, they find themselves on a collision course with one another that could not only destroy their friendship, but take the tiny town of Medda, Alabama with them.

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Plot Keywords:

birthday | deep south | 1940s | independent film | no opening credits | 

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Taglines:

These Kids Will Change Their Town Forever

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

A városi lány

Filming Locations:

Aurora, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$54,912, 31 December 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Frantic Redhead Productions,Crusader Entertainment,Salem Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Children on Their Birthdays was based on the short story by Truman Capote.

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Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Soundtracks

Heaven Only Knows
Written by Ross Vannelli and J.D. Hinton (as JD Hinton)
Performed by Jordan Bennett
Published by Rockwood Music, Wide Brim Music (BMI)
Produced by Ross Vannelli

User Reviews

A surprisingly good family film

I 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.