which mixed religious themes with sci-fi horror. I refer to these types of movies as Mary Poppins films because they both use a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. If you like your comedies straight up, without any sugarcoated morality mixed in, you may not appreciate Bruce Almighty.
The "Godly" portion of the film presents an interesting, if narrow minded, take on the subject of God that cuts the big guy some slack in the process. I say narrow minded, because Bruce's perception of God is limited to selfish righteous indignation regarding his personal circumstances, but not overly concerned with the well-being of others.
Bruce's opportunity to play God gives him a greater appreciation for how hard it is to be God. Bruce learns that for every action there is a reaction and not always the intended one. Bruce Almighty also promotes the notion that God helps those that help themselves and deserves credit for suggesting we have to take some personal responsibility for the outcome of our lives. That's a refreshing message in an era when no one is apparently responsible for anything and can blame their problems on bad genes, video games and society, but not themselves.
Bruce Almighty's exploration, of the subject of God's powers, is passable in so much as it reminds us that most of us could pull up our socks and do better. However, the explanation provided totally fails to consider the larger questions regarding God's apparent lack of intervention in preventing real tragedy (the murder of innocents, natural disasters etc.), as opposed to whether or not you or I get the promotion we feel we deserve. Yes, I know its only a comedy, but Bruce Almighty is using the bully pulpit for its own purposes and thus deserve criticism for the simplistic and selfish perspective advanced.
Fans of Carrey's previous comedies will be happy to know that he returns to the physical comedy that is his forte. The jokes in Bruce Almighty, 75% or more of which were featured in the trailers (I wish they would stop doing that), still generate hearty laughs when your watching the actual film.
However, Carrey and the character he plays have a lot in common. Its relatively well known that Carrey, like Bruce, feels he hasn't been given the respect he feels he deserves and that stardom went to Carrey's head. Its hard watching Bruce Almighty and not making the connections between Carrey's personal life and ambitions in the same way its hard watching Nolte in The Good Thief and not thinking about that infamous mug shot. Bruce Almighty is a less than subtle attempt at contrition and redemption.
The other aspect of Bruce Almighty that left me cold was the relationship between Bruce and Grace (Jennifer Aniston). Aniston does a fine job but because Carrey, oops I mean Bruce, is such a self-centered character the script doesn't really pay enough attention to the relationship. This contributes to an obvious lack of chemistry between the two of them. When the script does focus on the relationship its much more mushy than funny.
Morgan Freeman plays God with due reverence and modesty. He further demonstrates his class, as an actor and human being, by purposely not attempting to cash in on the role the way Charlton Heston cashed in on his portrayal of Moses.
The first two-thirds of Bruce Almighty will make you laugh if you don't mind a side order of religion with your comedy. The mushy Hollywood ending is beyond redemption.
Running Time - 101 minutes
Alternative Reviews:
Roger Ebert's Review
Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
Bruce Almighty Official Web Site
