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Poster (c) Universal Studios
Bruce Almighty has more continuity errors than an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. Most have to do with the ending, so I won’t spoil them, although I’ll guess that you will be able to tell what the ending will be. It has its moments, some very good ones at that, but it can’t seem to get over its cocky tones. It seems like a vehicle to get Jim Carrey back on target, teamed up with director Tom Shadyac again (Ace Ventura, Liar Liar), and an easy $100 million or so for Universal, and a possibility for a sequel.
Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past two months knows the plot: man revolts against God; man gets God’s powers. That man is Bruce Nolan (Carrey), angry that the anchor position at his news station didn’t go to him. He’s just a lowly reporter who has to get into ridiculous outfits. After he curses God once too often, God Himself (Morgan Freeman) turns up and gives Bruce the chance to have His powers, to see if Bruce can do it better. At first, Bruce uses them to his advantage, but must learn to cope with them.
Jim Carrey can be funny when he wants to be, and he can also be a good actor when he wants to be. He returns to his mid-90’s slapstick, while incorporating his acting from The Truman Show, and, dare I say it, The Majestic? Although the humor isn’t as broad as his earlier work, and the acting isn’t as strong, there’s still good doses of both. There’s as much crude humor as one-liners.
However, Bruce Almighty can’t keep away from the clichés. Bruce can’t climb up the ladder, his pretty girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) is a kind preschool teacher, his coworkers are mean, et cetera. If that wasn’t bad enough, it also tries to be another “classic” Carrey movie. There’s a new “catchphrase” (B-E-A-utiful, which it REALLY stupid), and there’s symbolism and meaningful characters and objects that just keep on popping in for no reason, like the prayer bracelet and the bum.
Something that always strikes me as odd is all of the complaints against the film. It seems that movies like The Last Temptation of Christ, Dogma, and now Bruce Almighty have Christians boycotting the film for “mocking God.” As the saying goes, God has a sense of humor, look at the platypus. It’s just extra marketing and publicity.
It had some pretty funny scenes, and at times the laughs were pretty big. I don’t, however, understand why the audience was cracking up at the “seven fingers” joke (it’s just like “You’ve got me straight trippin’, boo,” from Bringing Down the House). I thought that most scenes were funny, except for the last quarter, when the laughs slowed dramatically. Also, I thought that the cinematography was surprisingly good for a slob comedy like this. It worked best when Bruce was “parting the Red Sea.”
Could Jim Carrey be coming back to what made him famous? Could Morgan Freeman be billed higher for being in about three scenes? Will Jennifer Aniston ever be cast in a role other than the “cute girlfriend”? We may find out as Universal will probably release Bruce Almighty 2: Heavens Above!
Rated PG-13 for language, sexual content and some crude humor.
Review Date: May 24, 2003