''Children on Their Birthdays'' is a 2002 American independent drama film directed by

Mark Medoff Mark Medoff (March 18, 1940 – April 23, 2019) was an American playwright, screenwriter, film and theatre director, actor, and professor. His play '' Children of a Lesser God'' received both the Tony Award and the Olivier Award The Laurence ...

, and starring

Sheryl Lee Sheryl Lynn Lee (born April 22, 1967) is a German-born American film, stage, and television actress. After studying acting in college, Lee relocated to Seattle, Washington to work in theater, where she was cast by David Lynch as Laura Palmer and ...

Jesse Plemons Jesse Plemons (; born April 2, 1988) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and achieved a career breakthrough with his major role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). He subsequ ...

, Joe Pichler,

Tania Raymonde Tania Raymonde Helen Katz, is an American actress and artist. Her career first caught traction when she played the recurring character of Cynthia Sanders on the Fox sitcom '' Malcolm in the Middle'' between 2000 and 2002, followed by the role o ...

Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American film, television, theatre and voice actor. McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy ''Happy Gilmore''. Other notable ...

, and

Tom Arnold Tom Arnold may refer to: * Tom Arnold (actor) (born 1959), American actor * Tom Arnold (economist) (born 1948), Irish CEO of Concern Worldwide * Tom Arnold (footballer) (1878–?), English footballer * Tom Arnold (literary scholar) (1823–1900), B ...

. The screenplay written by Douglas Sloan is based on " Children on Their Birthdays", the short story of the same title by

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

. This was the last film appearance by Pichler before his disappearance in 2006.

Plot

In the summer of 1947, a pretentious thirteen-year-old girl called "Miss" Lily Jane Bobbit is liked by two boys, who are best friends. Using the funniest

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the ...

and the ever so heavy accent, she manages to win the attraction of the town's people, including the love of the two best friends. As the story continues, it must be decided as to whether or not the two boys will remain best friends, as only one of them can win Miss Bobbit's heart.

Production

The film was shot in

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

, Lemont and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

Critical reception

''Children on Their Birthdays'' won the Platinum Award for Independent Theatrical Feature Films - Family/Children at WorldFest Houston.

External links

Reference list

Artisan Entertainment films Films based on short fiction 2002 films 2002 drama films Films set in 1947 Films shot in Illinois Plaion Films based on works by Truman Capote 2000s English-language films {{2000s-drama-film-stub