Having read "A Prayer for Owen Meany", I have to say, the movie was good, but not great. Oliver Platt, adds a special something to anything he is in, and I would pay to watch Ashely Judd read the phone book. However, after reading the book, nothing can compare. Great acting, great cinematography, and great story. This is far from my usual taste in either book or film, but I enjoyed both. Anyone who likes to read, and likes to read John Irving, (you have to enjoy reading to stick with an Irving book to the end, he is very long winded), will understand, that it's next to impossible to bring an Irving character to the screen. If you like this film, may I recomend "The Door in the Floor", also a screen adaptation of a John Irving novel, "A Widow for One Year".