Silly yet saintly

Rating: Null/10 (27 May 2003)

The trailers (or previews) for "Bruce Almighty" led me to believe that it would be a frivolous frolic, full of toilet and tit-and-ass humor. And indeed it was. But the film turned out to be much more than an exercise in excess. It proved to be a movie with a message and a meaning. "Bruce Almighty" starts out silly -- but ends up saintly.
Jim Carrey stars as Bruce Nolan, a TV reporter who yearns to advance beyond feel-good human-interest items to more serious (and prestigious) news coverage as an anchorman. He fails to appreciate the things he already has, not least of which is his girlfriend, Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston). God finally steps in, embodied by Morgan Freeman. He gives Bruce his powers and takes a little holiday Himself.
Predictably, Bruce uses God's powers in all kinds of piddling and picayune ways, such as parting a bowl of soup like the Red Sea in "The Ten Commandments". But he starts hearing voices in his head -- the unanswered prayers of the world, or at least his immediate neighborhood. First, he tries to make sense out of the voices by organizing them. (The Post-It note sequence is priceless.)
Then he tries to make the voices go away by granting all of the things people pray for. But he soon learns that people should be careful what they wish for, and that his actions have dire consequences. As Tobey Maguire said in "Spiderman", "With great power comes great responsibility."
In the end, Bruce learns to value the humble but happy life he has always had. And he learns that being God is not about performing cheap magic tricks with the universe. It is about loving creatures who are free not to love Him back. It is also about teaching human beings that, like Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz", they themselves have the power to answer their prayers. Or, as Gandhi put it, to "be the change that you want to see in the world".
Deeply religious people might take offence at some of the jokes in "Bruce Almighty". But that shouldn't stop them from seeing the film. Ultimately, its moral theology and philosophy of prayer are as sound and firm as the house built on rock in the gospels. As for non-believers, they may quibble with the medium -- but they can't find fault with the message.