From the director of Ace Ventura, Ace Ventura II: When Nature Calls, and Liar Liar, comes this, my least favorite of the four. Having the same formula, I felt like I was watching a much worse representation of the at least enjoyable Liar Liar. Bruce Almighty is a perfect example of a cheesy formulaic comedy that is in dire need of several re-writes. It relies too much on its lead to create the laughs that the sub-par screenplay cannot provide.
Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) gains no respect for his work as a mediocre news reporter for Buffalo’s Eyewitness News. His colleagues do not appreciate his news stories and coverage, and it looks as if he will never climb the news reporter ladder and make it to the almighty position of anchor. However, after Bruce has an incredibly stressful day, he lashes out at God. God (Morgan Freeman) then in turn decides to take a vacation and allow Bruce to take over his overseeing occupation, powers and all. Bruce uses his new-found powers to improve his own personal life, and just when his job, love life, and self-esteem all seem to be looking up, he learns that he is not the only one who needs help in this world and that being the Almighty is a lot harder than he first presumed.
First and foremost, practically every use of Bruce's powers throughout the film is shown in the previews. As the film plays out, one can easily say, "Oh, here is the part where he has seven fingers. There is the parting of the tomato soup - the walking on water - the shot to the fire hydrant during the 'I've Got the Power' music - the gust of wind lifting the woman’s blue dress - the clothes rapidly falling off Jim Carrey and onto the bedroom rug - the pulling of the moon - the dog using the toilet - the parting of the traffic - the manipulation of the news anchor's voice - and the Clint Eastwood impression in the rear view mirror.” With the exception of a very small amount of new uses of his God-like powers, it is disappointing to merely receive dialogue in between the scenes that encompassed the lackluster TV spots.
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Article comments
1 - Bliffle
Sorry you had to watch a bad movie.
Might I humbly suggest a better comedy that you might enjoy? Try "The Horses Mouth" with Alex Guiness from the novel by Joyce Cary. An excellent sound score from Prokofieffs "Lieutenant Kije" with the jaunty trumpet march coordinated to Jimsons nefarious activities.
2 - Guppusmaximus
I'm sorry I have to disagree...
The story was so fantastic that it was only right to let Jim be Jim. Tom Shadyac was a smart man for realizing this. It totally captures the life of a selfish man who is only concerned with his own goals and not the people who loves him. With it's christian overtones and a excellent performance from Morgan Freeman as God himself, this movie deserves every ounce of credit. The out-takes alone make this a DVD worth owning...
3 - Baronius
This movie was exactly one-half "Liar Liar", one-half "The Mask". And when I say exactly, I mean that you could pretty much list out every scene in Bruce and check them off one at a time. In particular, I remember the sequence where Bruce goes after the muggers after he gets his amazing powers. It bugged me because that was one of the best scenes in The Mask.
As for the outakes: as time goes by, you can see that actors feel obligated to be wacky when they make mistakes. It reminds me of a comment from Richard Roeper: stop showing us how much fun you had making the movie, and get back to making movies that are fun for us to watch.
4 - Stephen
I thought this was pretty standard Carrey, but it was great light entertainment for a sunday night, just before another freekin week of work... arrrghh!
My review here: Citizen Bosco
5 - Foe Carol
There is something in it that teaches each and everybody... the violations of the 1st and 2nd commandment. Yet, it just depends on the people who have strong faith and knows what is really the thing to believe. We must be obedient to the church teachings of the 1st and 2nd Commandments. Indeed, the Miracle is You!