More of a Drama than a Comedy...Bummer

Rating: Null/10 (2 August 2007)

I had pretty high expectations for Bruce Almighty. Not that it would be Jim Carrey's finest, but that it would be somewhat comparable to some of his blockbuster comedies back in the day like Dumb and Dumber (1993) and The Mask (1994). Needless to say, Bruce Almighty falls well short of its potential. With a pretty good storyline and a talented leading cast, featuring Carrey, Jennifer Aniston and Morgan Freeman, there's no reason why this movie should have turned out this bad. The story begins with Bruce Nolan (Carrey), a depressed and cynical Buffalo news reporter, having a very very bad day. So the day after 'the worst day of Bruce's life', God approaches him, who offers to instill him with all his powers for one week. Sounds good enough, eh? Well, yea, a first, but Bruce Almighty is poorly directed and it lacks focus. First, Bruce makes horrible, unimaginative, use of god's powers. Creating a gust of wind to blow up a woman's skirt? Getting his dog to use the bathroom...properly? What about stopping time or time travel, or exploring other countries (within reason)? Wouldn't you do such things if you had god's power? The possibilities are endless yet the director keeps Bruce's usage of these unlimited powers grounded in practicality and insignificance. Then there's the issue of the prayers Bruce must answer. He answers "yes" to all of them to save time, and the consequence of his action is that the Buffalo Sabres win the Stanley Cup. What about those who prayed that the Sabres opponent would win? Not everyone's a Sabres fan. Their prayers weren't answered. Perhaps Bruce thinks that up-state New York deserves preferential treatment. Adding to the disappointment is that Bruce Almighty really isn't even that funny, aside from the few scenes that are geared to showcase up-and-coming comic Steve Carrell, and not Carrey. There's no chemistry between Carrey and Jen Aniston (his estranged live-in-girlfriend) and Jim himself just seems kinda bored with the whole production. Also, the final quarter of the film assumes an unexpectedly serious atmosphere, as its tone shifts unevenly from comedic to melo-dramatic, but neither work particularly well. Does this want to be a comedy or a drama? No one really knows. There's just far too much of that "It's a Wonderful Life" morality filler instead of the great comedy we all came in expecting from it. A misfire all the way.
Rating: 1.5 stars out of 4