...And the Lord did grin...

Rating: 6/10 (20 December 2003)

`Bruce Almighty' (2003/Tom Shadyac) **1/2 out of ****
Many people (myself included), at one time or another, wish that we could obtain the powers of God himself. And that is the concept of `Bruce Almighty'. A wacky TV reporter, who is trying to take his career seriously, while his life seems to be going down hill, gets the opportunity to use God's powers to see if he could do a better job. But, like most `what if?' comedies, this film runs out of steam before too long, and the ending is as satisfying as one might hope for.
Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a good reporter, he just is not taken seriously. So when he loses the big promotion (and his job), and gets the shit beaten out of him in the same day, he starts to lose his faith in the big guy upstairs. And who could blame him? But then, he gets a visit from someone he never would have expected.GOD (played by Morgan Freeman). Then, for the next few weeks or so, he gets to take God's place while he takes a vacation. What follows is a sometimes funny, sometimes routine comedy that does not add up. But part of if it is fun. Especially when in references `Dirty Harry', and when Nolan takes revenge on the people that did him wrong on the worst day of his life.
Jim Carrey does a good job, but it is not his best comedic performance. However, it is good to see him in his old form, for he has not made a decent flick in quite awhile. For all the actors (and even actresses) who played God in other films, Freeman is funny in the role, but he is not given that much to do. Joining these two is Jennifer Aniston, who in my opinion, is one of the sexiest actresses out there today. Despite these two well known faces, this is Carrey's movie.
`Bruce Almighty' is your average 'what if?' comedy. It contains the usual funny moments that you might expect from other films with a similar concept, but after all is said and done, this ends up as one of those 'ok' comedies that you should rent first, instead of going to see it at the theater.
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