A mostly delightful and entertaining "Mr. Supremacy" comedy

Rating: Null/10 (24 September 2004)

"Bruce Almighty" contains one of the most worthy concepts ever contrived in all of comedic history: fitting the funniest man in Hollywood (Jim Carrey)into the shoes of the Almighty. How could anyone want to miss this kind of comic brilliance? For the most part, "Bruce Almighty" delivers well on "divine power" comedy, featuring Carrey providing his signature comic genius to this ever so innovative premise. There are many enjoyable and satisfying elements to the film, as Carrey works diligently if unconventionally with everything he has to work with. His aspiring-to-be anchorman profile works well, as when Carrey takes over as God, there are plenty of fantastic stories to cover, including a hilarious scene involving an obnoxious coworker who is, let's just say, publically humiliated by the hands of Carrey. That being said, there are plenty of unwanted elements to detract from this otherwise brilliant comedy. It becomes absorbed in sentimentality towards the end, and practically deviates from comedy to trauma, as Carrey's powers are used less universally and more...personally (but not in a funny way). Instead of adhering to the "diving-powers" comedy premise, the film becomes a romantic, moral, and ethical crusade for Carrey, with the last half hour of the film involving him "correcting manners". As a comedy, "Bruce Almighty" has it in the bag and succeeds brilliantly, yet towards the end, it is well...less divine. Good for what it's worth. *** out of ****