A fun Carrey romp with a decent message

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2019)

Believing in a higher power isn't always people like to think. To some it sounds corny, others it seems useless, while others actually feel it does them a world of good. No matter what religion you have or don't have, life has a way of working itself out. How people deal with this though depends on the personality. Some feel they're doomed to suffer bad luck constantly, while others think if they pray, it'll change their directional course. When in fact, there's more to take away from this kind of situation and what better way to explore this with a little Jim Carrey team up with Tom Shadyac. Surprisingly unlike his other features, Shadyac produces a feature a slight bit different in tone, however it still works in favor for the audience. It actually is quite thought provoking.
Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey), a news reporter looking to do more than just cover fluff pieces is frustrated with how things are going. While his girlfriend Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston) thinks things are adequate, she doesn't see that Nolan's adversary Evan Baxter (Steve Carrell) keeps getting more and more promotions. Finally having enough, Bruce comes in contact with the one and only God (Morgan Freeman) and gives him a taste of his power to help take care of business ; since Bruce thinks God isn't doing anything right. Written by Steve Koren (Seinfeld) and Mark O'Keefe (The Weird Al Show), the script to this feature brings on a narrative that's funny and may actually have the viewer realize something about themselves when the end credits roll. That's pretty good for a Jim Carrey film.
Seeing Bruce Nolan go through the expected emotions of attaining god-like powers is funny. When gaining that kind of ability, of course one will take matters into their own hands and right their own wrongs first. But of course having such incredible powers, comes great responsibility as cliche as that sounds. But it's true and the writers help put that into perspective not only for Nolan but the viewers themselves. There's only one major plot hole that came about that didn't make much sense. When God gives Nolan his powers, he says no to do two things. First, not to tell anyone and two, that he cannot affect free will. Yet somehow, Nolan can make his dog do things for him. So is it just human free will he can't control? If not, then he lied because a dog is a living being too, just not as sophisticated as a human.
The actors are no doubt comical in their roles. Jim Carrey makes plenty of funnies throughout using his usual brand of humor. While Jennifer Aniston is nowhere on the comedic level as Carrey, she has some very deadpan moments that help ground the situations that ensue. The same could also be said for Morgan Freeman who stares down Carrey's character with truth and honesty in every word that he says. Even Carrell who has a much smaller role, gets his moments to do some crazy things. There's also appearances from Philip Baker Hall as Nolan's boss, Catherine Bell as a co-anchor of the news company Nolan works for and Lisa Ann Walter as Grace's sister, who also talks some sense to Nolan. Considering this is coming from director Tom Shadyac, who made Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), it's a surprise change in execution.
When it came to visuals, things were pretty good for 2003. The tricks used to make things look believable do not look put together last second. Things like added hand digits or walking on water all looks very well done. However, one thing element that doesn't look anything special is the cinematography. Which is odd because it was shot by Dean Semler, the cinematographer to The Road Warrior (1981), City Slickers (1991), The Three Musketeers (1994), We Were Soldiers (2002) and later on Maleficent (2014). The shots of the city and other streets are just boring and lack anything that stands out. However the film score provided by John Debney did a wonderful job. The music is light and energetic, just like the main lead and the antics that come about. Not anything shy of what he's done before.
While there's one noticeable plot hole and the cinematography isn't anything to be impressed with, the rest is a fun feature. The actors all give entertaining performances, the comedy is funny and the writing behind it not only gives some good laughs, but also has a message about taking on life and what do to about it.