Bruce Almighty-May Not Be Almighty, But Its Funny Enough
Bruce Almighty is the epitome of the slapstick, silly comedy that is simply setting out to give you a few laughs and let you toss your problems aside for 90 minutes. The core story, like the film, is really straight to the punch line. God, played by Morgan Freeman, decides to give a regular guy named Bruce Nolan, played by Jim Carey, god-like powers and makes him a movie executive with a worn in casting couch and an infinite supply of coke, just kidding. Studio executives actually have to make deals with the other one–Satan.
Seeing Bruce use his powers in a variety of ways is really entertaining at points, but does drag sometimes. The dog on the toilet scene is a little bit of comic genius and proves that Carey can still deliver knock out punches when he is in the mood.
Jennifer Aniston is passable as Bruce Nolan’s love interest, but as usual, adds nothing new and shows no range beyond her tried Friend’s character. Freeman adds a touch of class to film with his portrayal of the all powerful one, and makes the very most of his screen time.
The writing is mostly crisp and let’s hope that veteran comedy writers Steve Oedekerk, Steve Koren and Mark O’Keefe all work together again in the future. Director Tom Shadyac allows the comedy and script speak for itself and doesn’t try to turn Bruce Almighty into something that it is not.
It is questionable as to whether or not the $70 to $80 million dollar budget ends up showing on the screen, but with about $20 million going to Jim Carey alone, I guess the end product is roughly in line with expectations. One possible way to improve the film and use the budget more wisely would have been to go with an actress with a little more range, perhaps, god forbid, selecting a lesser known or unknown actress and allocating more of the budget on visual effects. The film could have benefitted two fold for this simple move.
If you’re one of the people annoyed by Jim Carey this may not be the film for you and that does bring up a good point. There is a very limited pool of actors who are given the big budget comedic roles these days and that is kind of sad. People don’t just need variety of scripts, they also need new faces.
Story B
Acting B
Visuals B+
Originality/Innovation B+
Enjoyability Grade B+
Home Theater/HD Factor B
Overall Grade B+
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