Carrey Shines But The Film Doesn't

Rating: 6/10 (15 June 2003)

This should probably be a fine vehicle for Jim Carrey--a hard-luck soft-news anchor is given the reins while God takes a vacation--and his enormous comedic skills are very much in evidence (which alone makes it worth recommending) but there seems to be a bit too much restraint and tidiness on display, a classic example of Universal Studio's sanitized version of America; ostensibly set in Buffalo, it could be Anywhere U.S.A. as long as it's the spotless, W.A.S.P. Anywhere U.S.A. the studio insists on force-feeding the world. (The fact that God is played by African-American Morgan Freeman seems meant to throw us off the track but doesn't--God may be black but He apparently has little interest in anyone other than His white followers.) Carrey throws himself into the project, capitalizing on the apparent desperation he's exhibiting while trying to recover from his disappointing serious work (`The Truman Show', `Man In The Moon') and his physical comedy has never been better; but while it's a pleasure to watch a master craftsman at work, the material he's given works only sporadically, most notably in extended scenes such as an on-air meltdown at Niagara Falls and his tormenting of the anchor who's passed him over for the top job. (The anchor is nicely played by Steven Carell, displaying the same crack timing as Carrey.) While Carrey makes the movie worthwhile, the overall pacing is slack, thanks to the lackluster direction by Tom Shadyac, who, as in films such as `The Nutty Professor', prefers to just point the camera and let his stars bring him the glory.