Evan Almighty
Steve Carell, Lauren Graham, Morgan Freeman; Directed by Tom Shadyac
Evan Baxter is a news anchor who has just been elected Congressman. After moving his family into a high-end suburban community, Evan eagerly begins his career as a highly ambitious politician (whose campaign slogan was "Change The World!"). Inevitably, his work begins to take priority over his family. Things begin to change when Evan's wife, Joan (Lauren Graham), confesses to him one night of her prayers for their family to be drawn closer together. This confession soon prompts Evan to pray a prayer of his own, "Help me to change the world." That's when God shows up with a plan of his own. He instructs Evan to build an ark, supplying him with the wood, the tools, and the animals. Evan must endure the shame of public ridicule, the pain and confusion he causes his baffled family, and ultimately, his own seemingly insurmountable doubts and fears if he going to succeed.
I will admit that I went into this film with low expectations. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first film with this concept, Bruce Almighty, although I didn’t completely hate it either. I thought Jim Carrey was completely wrong for the part, and that his level of absurdity and ridiculousness was way too over-the-top for the kind of movie it was trying to be. Steve Carell’s brand of humor is pretty near spot on for this tale, and he never overwhelms us or takes the attention away from the heart of the scenes. ‘Unselfish’ would be the word, I think. This movie left me pleasantly surprised. It is by no means a flat out comedy, but rather a warm and fuzzy family film. Think ‘Touched by an Angel’ meets ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’. There were some genuinely poignant moments with some genuinely touching dialogue. But there was also a fair share of predictability, and a few scenes of bland, eye-roll inducing comedic gags (birds pooping on corrupt politicians, etc.). Another thing that made me cringe throughout this film was the music. There were so many “oooooh’s” and “aaaaaahhhhhs” throughout the score that I could almost swear Roma Downey was going to walk into the scene and deliver a monologue. When this wasn’t happening, it was “Spirit in the Sky” (vastly overused in movies) or annoying Southern Baptist choir strains, complete with all the annoying screams and shouts you typically find there. Replace the music, cut down on the amount of obvious religious imagery, and remove the overly syrupy, saccharine parts, and you would get a better movie.
This is one to take the family to see. This is one to take your church group to see. But it is, by no means, going to impress anyone hoping to see another “Forty Year Old Virgin” or Jim Carrey-esque comedy. It is going to let people down for the sole reason that it is, at the core, a very spiritual movie. Notice that I do not say ‘religious’. There is no twisted or self-serving theology here. The writers seemed to have studied their biblical history and manage to avoid breaking any rules (a fairly rare feat with bible-based cinema). What ultimately mattered here was the message of faith, hope, and trust that is slowly leaking out of Hollywood storylines. It’s sad to say it, but this is going to upset people. As for the feel of the film, warm and fuzzy is not necessarily bad, but it’s certainly not ground-shaking either. The performances were good, the special effects were good, and the movie actually had a point to it (another rare feat for comedies to achieve). Give it a chance, but keep an open mind.
Grading:
Story = B
Originality = B-
DVD Features = N/A
Acting = B+
Enjoyability = B
Visuals = A
Overall = B
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