God - 1, Carrey - 0: Bruce Almighty scores mighty low

Rating: Null/10 (5 June 2003)

While Bruce Almighty will probably rake in a landfill's worth of cash, it doesn't mark the trumpet-blaring, heaven's parting return to physical comedy that Jim Carrey fans (true fans, not fair-weather ones) were praying for. Certainly it goes without saying that this movie has its funny moments, as to be expected, but even then, Carrey's humor comes off as unsure at times, as if he's trying on an old pair of shoes that used to be his fave, but now betray his once confident steps. Outside of the ups and downs of Carrey's performance, Bruce Almighty fails in installing a sense of almighty bewilderment and awe with both the comedy and the subject matter: one man walking a mile in the most mighty of moccasins. There have been better God laughs in "Oh God, You Devil," and even George Burns would agree to that, despite a solid, yet expected, performance from Morgan Freeman. A few special effects gimmicks can't make up for the lack of directorial imagination with this most fertile of comic ground ... I mean, come on, Carrey as God should have been the role he's been waiting to ham up his entire life. Instead of an Ace Ventura, laugh until your spleen ruptures movie, we're left with an empty spot where laughs should be. In short, Bruce Almighty should have been a second film for Carrey's return, after he'd gotten the bugs worked out with his performance by taking on another film first ... say Daddy Daycare, for example. He couldn't possibly had done a worse job than Eddie Murphy.