Summary:

TV reporter Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) has a run of bad luck, leading to his cursing out God and blaming Him for everything that goes awry in his life, even when his misfortune is clearly of his own making.  God (Morgan Freeman) decides to teach Bruce an important lesson by endowing him with his powers for a week.

Steve says:

Let’s face it -- the premise of Jim Carrey on the loose with all of God’s powers was just too tempting to pass up.  When Carrey is on his comedic game, there is no one funnier in films today.  The pleasant news is that he is indeed on his game in BRUCE ALMIGHTY, even if the script isn’t quite up to his prodigious gifts.

First of all, there’s that pesky predictability thing.  When you see early in the film how shallow and self-focused Bruce is, can there be any doubt left that he will come out of this a better man? 

Okay, so forget getting any surprise twists and turns in this story.  It all lays out pretty much the way you think it will.  But the journey is still fun, thanks to Carrey’s take on “God for a Week.”

One other problem is that the trailers have been in theaters since last Christmas and they contain all the best gags in the movie.  The dog on the toilet, Bruce’s girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) waking up with bigger boobs, -- they’re all there.

While this is Carrey’s show from start to finish, he receives strong support from Aniston and Morgan Freeman, who makes for a much more convincing God than, say, George Burns.  It’s good to see Carrey doing what he does best, without any lame attempts to re-invent himself as a dramatic actor (see THE MAJESTIC.  Or, on second thought, don’t).  Audiences flock to Jim Carrey movies with the full expectation that he will send them out of the theaters with sides aching from unbridled laughter.  His most recent efforts have missed the mark by a mile, leaving his fans starved for exactly the kind of manic comedy that BRUCE is.

I guess the producers spent so much on Carrey’s mega-bucks salary that they didn’t have much left for things like production design.  While the film is set in Buffalo, New York, much of it has that cheesy backlot look to it.  That’s because large hunks of the story were filmed on the very same backlot you’ll see, or have seen countless times before, on the Universal tour.  (“Mable, is that the BACK TO THE FUTURE town square?” “It sure is, Elmer.”)

Director and co-writer Tom Shadyac keeps things moving at a brisk pace, hoping that we won’t notice the holes and deficiencies in the script.

Patty will doubtless accuse me of having an axe to grind, given the fact that, a couple of years ago, I wrote a script called THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LARRY, in which a middle-aged account discovers he’s the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.  While the stories are completely different, the mere existence of BRUCE ALMIGHTY will virtually assure that LARRY will never see the light of a multiplex screen.  But please -- I’m a bigger man than that.  And a Jim Carrey fan to boot.  I do not wish this film ill.  I just wish the script had lived up to the promise that it had when I saw the first trailer lo those many months ago.

If all you’re looking for is a few good laughs, BRUCE ALMIGHTY delivers on that score and you won’t be disappointed.  But if you’re looking for any surprises, you won’t find them here.

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Patty says:

Who you callin' “Mable,” chump?

The boys had to drag me to this one.  Like most of the rest of the non-mouth breathing public, I've come to lower my expectations where Jim Carrey is concerned.  Carrey on his game is a close second to Robin Williams in the comedic antics category. The problem is, Carrey hasn't been on his game in years. When the opening credits rolled, I fully expected Carrey to be upstaged by the dog on the crapper.  I was pleasantly surprised by BRUCE ALMIGHTY.  It wasn't side splitting comedy, but it sure wasn't the comedic equivalent of a root canal that I expected either.

Yeah, the script was predictable.  We knew that Bruce had gotten so wrapped up in his own career ambition that he was ignoring the important things, such as his relationship with his gorgeous, patience-like-a-saint girlfriend.

Nothing works for Bruce because his overactive ego takes precedence over all the important things in life.  He forsakes love and great sex for such shallow objectives as getting to anchor the evening news in scenic Buffalo, NY (speaking of root canals).  That, in itself, would make God lose interest in Bruce as a prospective substitute deity, but the Lord persisteth.  Instead, He teaches Bruce to turn water into wine instead of whine.  Where did you think that was going, Steve?  Even talent like Jim Carrey wouldn't have been able to milk two hours out of this story if Bruce had been less self serving.

Aniston is game to even consider taking on a role opposite Jim Carrey.  Even though the character she played was drowning in milk toast, she was able to keep her performance from being flat. 

It's an amazing tribute to the talent of Morgan Freeman to say that his skills were wasted on the part of God, but in the case of BRUCE ALMIGHTY, it was all about Carrey.  It would have been a far better film had God intervened in the script just enough to keep us guessing.

In spite of all that, I laughed a lot both at Carrey's delivery, but also at the implausible but funny shtick that keeps the scenes moving.  It was an entertaining film and although I wouldn't sit through it again, it was fun the first time.  (Steve's screenplay was much funnier).

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May 24, 2003