| Universal Pictures – Spyglass Entertainment – Shady Acres Entertainment, 2003 | Runtime: 94 minutes | Rated PG-13 |
| Starring Jim Carrey, Jennifer Aniston, Morgan Freeman, Catherine Bell, Steve Carell | ||
| Written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe, and Steve Oedekerk | Directed by Tom Shadyac | |
Every once in a while, a movie will stun me by being immeasurably better than its previews suggest. I have been pleasantly surprised in the past by such fare as Bandits, Legally Blonde, and Orange County. Case in point, once again, is Bruce Almighty, the new Jim Carrey star vehicle, and a movie much more imaginative and funny than its previews let on. And while neither it, nor any of the movies I previously mentioned, is likely to be listed among the best films ever made (or, for that matter, even the best films of the year), it is certainly something to check out; Bruce Almighty, I believe, is guaranteed to make you laugh.
Carrey is Bruce Nolan, a field reporter for the local news in his hometown of Buffalo, New York. Bruce aims to be an anchorman, but instead gets stuck with oddball stories such as the unveiling of the city's largest ever chocolate-chip cookie. When he finds out on the air that the anchor job went to his rival, Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), he goes mental, making a public spectacle of himself and losing his job altogether in the process.
Bruce also puts himself on thin ice with his girlfriend, Grace (Jennifer Aniston). His life continues over the course of a slim number of hours to get worse and worse. Bruce, like so many sad, real-life individuals like him, blames God, and begins to curse him, calling him a "big bully" (a line which, strangely enough, reminded me of last year's brilliant drama, The Believer). He even challenges God to a fight; after crashing his car into a streetlight post, he announces to the heavens, "Smite me, oh, Mighty Smiter!"
And what a coincidence it is when God shows up—as a man in a white suit located at an obscure address in Buffalo, New York of all places. God is played by the great Morgan Freeman as a patient and caring God, with a wonderful sense of humor. God sees that Bruce thinks he's doing a lousy job, and puts Bruce to the test to see if he can do any better. Bruce is given all the powers of God.
What would you do if you had the power to do just about anything? The movie's message seems to be that man is imperfect—that, if granted the powers of God, we would not make the world a better place or answer people's prayers, but instead we would use the powers to make our own lives a little better for the present. Bruce exemplifies this idea, and rather than feeding the hungry or defending the helpless, he merely performs glorified magic tricks. In an ingenious scene, Bruce makes his tomato soup part like the Red Sea. There are also hilarious scenes involving Bruce using his new-found powers to get revenge on a gang of hoods and to publicly humiliate his news anchor rival.
Bruce Almighty marks the third collaboration between Carrey and director Tom Shadyac; they previously worked together on such equally ambitious yet much less funny movies as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Liar Liar. As with the latter film, Bruce Almighty does venture awkwardly into melodramatic territory during the third act when it should probably be sticking to the straight comedy that got it successfully through the first and second. However, there are enough laughs in the last third of the film to keep me from recommending that you leave the theater, not to mention an ending that still had me smiling long after the fact.
Of Jennifer Aniston: With Bruce Almighty, it becomes clear that her movie career will not only be wonderful to watch, but lucrative as well. Last year, Aniston was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her stunning performance in the wonderful drama, The Good Girl. Here she shows that she can hold her own in straight comedy, even when paired up with a comedy heavyweight such as Jim Carrey (Aniston played a smaller part in the amusing 2000 comedy, Office Space, wherein she was amid a cast composed primarily of unknowns).
Quentin Tarantino once said that just about enough decent movies come out of Hollywood each year to justify its existence. I urge you to show your support for the small number of good movies that Hollywood is spoon-feeding the public nowadays, and seeing Bruce Almighty is as good a way as any to start.
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