Bruce/Evan Almighty

Now we have come to the finale of “Jim Carrey Not in Sequels Month,” where we will talk about the 2003 gut-hurting comedy, “Bruce Almighty.” My siblings and I snuck into this movie after we had seen Ang Lee’s “Hulk” because my brother wanted to see it.

Roger Ebert appropriately started off his review by saying, “There is about Jim Carrey a desperate urgency that can be very funny, as he plunges with manic intensity after his needs and desires.” In “Bruce Almighty,” he plays a man whose deepest wish is to become the anchor of the Buffalo News. When he realizes that he wasn’t picked, he puts all the blame on God, demanding to see him and explain his reasons.

You could say that Bruce Nolan, played by Jim Carrey, does not meet the qualifications to be an anchor, just by looking at the two reports we see him do, one from a cookie company breaking the record of the largest chocolate chip cookie, the other on the ship of the anniversary cruise of the Maid of the Mist, the famous Niagara Falls tour boat. During the cruise, he hears on air, live, that Evan Baxter, played by comedian and former “The Daily Show” correspondent, Steve Carrell, was picked and not Bruce, and goes insane, even dropping the F-bomb in his shock.

You might say that he is uptight and aggressive and does not fit the anchor position (though he would replace a man who is just there to mainly smile). Though, in anger and grief, and on the verge of losing the love of his realistic girlfriend Grace, played by Jennifer Aniston, he calls God, and God answers.

God is, in the movie, a man in a white suit, played by Morgan Freeman which you can see as a godlike patience with Bruce. Since Bruce is not happy with what God is doing, God decides to give Bruce his job – or at least, the job over his own neighborhood in Buffalo, though at one part these tasks seem to spread directly above Buffalo to such a point that Bruce can change how far the moon is, creating tidal waves in Japan.

“Bruce Almighty,” directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Oedederk, Steve Koren, and Mark O’Keefe, is a fascinator, the type of movie where Bruce learns that even though he may not ever be the perfect God, the experience probably will make him a better television newsman.

Ebert said, “The problem with playing God, the movie demonstrates, is that when such powers are entrusted to a human, short-term notions tend to be valued higher than long-term improvement plans.” Look at the part where Bruce deals with his dog that takes a leak in the house (Ebert admits,” The payoff shot, showing the dog learning a new way to use the newspaper, had me laughing so loudly that people were looking at me”). Also, look at how Bruce deals with traffic jams, which work fine for Bruce, but not so well for everyone else. When you’re God, you can’t think only of yourself.

Ebert said, “Freeman plays God with a quality of warm detachment that is just about right, I think. You get the feeling that even while he's giving Bruce the free ride, he has a hand on the wheel, like a driver's training instructor. Aniston, as a sweet kindergarten teacher and fiancée, shows again (after "The Good Girl") that she really will have a movie career, despite the small-minded cavils of those who think she should have stayed on television.” She can play comedy, which is not easy, and she can keep up with Carrey by just not copying his craziness. That’s one of those talents like having the ability to sing one song while writing the lyrics to another.

Ebert ended his review by saying, “Whether "Bruce Almighty" is theologically sound, I will leave to the better qualified. My own suspicion is that if you have God's power even in a small area like Buffalo, it's likely to set things spinning weirdly everywhere. If a butterfly can flap its wings in Samoa and begin a chain of events leading to a tropical storm in the Caribbean, think what could happen when Bruce goes to work.”

In the end, you have to see this movie. It’s another one of my favorite Jim Carrey comedies and I just had a fun time laughing at this in the theater. If you are a fan of Jim Carrey and his comedies, you will love this movie as well.

Sadly, much like the rest of the great Jim Carrey movies, it was the victim of a sequel that Jim Carrey did not even star in, “Evan Almighty,” released in 2007.

Richard Roeper started his review by saying, “Oh, my God, this movie sucks. I'll say this much: Kudos to Jim Carrey for pulling off perhaps the most amazing disappearing-act hat trick in motion-picture history.” With Jim Carrey not appearing in “Evan Almighty” the sequel to the great “Bruce Almighty,” Carrey has now NOT reprised his role in three of the worst sequels of all time:

·         Dumb and Dumberer

·         Son of the Mask

·         Evan Almighty

Talk about avoiding monstrosity.

Roeper said, “To be fair, this is the least awful of that horrific trio -- but that's kind of like surviving a car wreck and saying your fractured toe isn't as painful as your shattered spine or your missing nose. "Evan Almighty" is a paper-thin alleged comedy with a laugh drought of biblical proportions, and a condescendingly simplistic spiritual message. It is so bad, I came close to throwing my caffeinated beverage at the screen.”

Before breaking this movie down, let’s take a look at one small visual joke.

As you probably know, Steve Carrell from “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” who has a small but hilarious supporting role as insincere anchorman Evan Baxter in “Bruce Almighty,” is the main focus here. After Evan has his first meeting with God, reprised by Morgan Freeman in milking this role for money, he passes a movie tent.

Roeper said, “Now, it's a time-honored tradition for directors to have a little in-joke fun with film buffs via movie marquees. It's a sly way of winking at the audience.”

In “Evan Almighty,” the tent advertises a movie called “The 40-Year-Old Virgin Mary.” We don’t just go on past that tent. We zoom in and drag it on. There might as well be the tagline, “Get it? We’re referencing Steve Carrell’s hit movie and we’re making a biblical pun!”

That irritation is revealing of a larger problem, like there’s no movie here – just a thought that doesn’t have much potential and can’t promise those low expectations.

Roeper noted, “In "Bruce Almighty," Evan seemed like the kind of jerk who would have been played by Chevy Chase 20 years ago. The opening sequence of "Evan Almighty" holds true to that characterization.” Somehow surviving what Bruce did to him, Evan is still the anchor over in Buffalo. After his co-anchor, played by the beautiful Catherine Bell, gives a montage of scenes that are there to tell us Evan has won the election to Congress, Evan then turns to the camera, looking like a tear is on his face, and says, “I feel just like that old Indian standing in front of all that garbage.”

Roeper said, “It's a dated but admittedly funny line, referencing the famous anti-littering commercial from our childhood.” You might think: OK, Evan’s a pompous, cynical jerk, and now he’s a congressman. Wait until he meets God!

However, now that Evan Baxter is gone, and is replaced by a seemingly decent and committed family man with a loving wife (the beautiful Lauren Graham from “Gilmore Girls”) and three sons (Jimmy Bennett, Graham Phillips, and Johnny Simmons) who love him. Granted, Evan is completely obedient in co-sponsoring an environmentally unfriendly bill created by a congressman, played by John Goodman – but he’s not a villain, nor does he look like he’s in any serious danger. Roeper said, “He's just the 1,234th variation on the ambitious husband/father who disappoints his wife and children because he has to work late so they'll have to cancel that much-anticipated hiking trip. (Memo to Hollywood executives: when a kid is about 14, he's not all that keen to spend every waking moment with his dad, anyway.)”

All of a sudden, God appears and tells Evan to build an ark. He gives Evan the materials, the tools, and even the land where he needs to build the ark. Roeper said, “The movie could have been called "God Is My Co-Signer."”

At first, Evan doesn’t think he’s talking to God, nor does he want to build the ark. That unwillingness is gone after a few days when Evan is growing a long beard he cannot shave, also the robes he can’t get rid of, and every kind of animal that keeps showing up in pairs and follows him around.

This part creates a serious problem for the movie. Evan’s wife thinks he’s crazy – so why doesn’t he just take her into the bathroom and show her that every time he shaves his beard, it shows up again? His co-workers think he’s losing his mind – so why doesn’t he just inform them that a man does not grow all that hair in a week, and all those animals are not native to the Washington, D.C. area?

The media and the neighbors laugh at Evan – even though he’s building an ark the size of a football stadium with only the help of his three sons and exotic animals who are capable of carrying supplies and doing other construction work. Roeper noted, “You can't have everyone thinking your main character is crazy if everyone sees that he is experiencing a series of miracles!! It kinda kills the comedy.”

Roeper goes on to say, “When an image of the Virgin Mary appears on tree bark, people weep and pray and burn candles. You get a Noah look-alike building a working ark while animals pair up all around him -- he won't get mocked, he'll be nominated for instant sainthood. It makes no sense that virtually everyone in the movie is laughing at Evan.”

Roeper continued, “Nearly every time "Evan Almighty" paints itself into a corner, the solution is to have a dog chomp Evan's crotch, or a bird drop doo-doo on a bad guy. (There are a LOT of scenes of animals crapping or spitting in this film.) Or they go extra cutesy with animal-reaction shots or fortune-cookie wisdom.”

Eventually, we find out why God commanded Evan to build the ark. It’s a completely ridiculous explanation. We also get an extended special-effects part, with the ark speeding through Washington. It’s a completely senseless, although expensive-looking, combination of stuntwork and CGI. Roeper said, “There's also an ongoing bit about Evan doing "the dance," an unfunny little move that would be hokey in a subpar sitcom.”

Finally, thankfully, the end credits start, with behind-the-scenes shots of the cast and crew dancing to C+C Music Factory’s classic song Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now). They all look like they’re enjoying themselves.

That’s because they haven’t seen the finished product yet.

Overall, like the rest of the sequels Jim Carrey didn’t star in, this one is just a pain to sit through. It’s a horrible modern-day look at the Bible story of Noah, and there have been better versions of it. Just see those and don’t even bother with this shameless sequel.

Although, I am hearing of a possibility of making an actual “Bruce Almighty 2.” I hope that happens because we could wash “Evan Almighty” out of our mouths.

Well everyone that concludes “Jim Carrey not in Sequels Month.” I hope you enjoyed my reviews and I hope I made good recommendations for everyone. See you all next month for an exciting month of reviews to close out the year.