A Hilarious Movie With Some Thought-Provoking Moments

Rating: 8/10 (5 June 2003)

At one point in this movie - as Bruce (Jim Carrey) gets his revenge on Evan (Steven Carell) - I was almost rolling around on the floor of the theatre in tears, the scene was so funny. That one scene alone made it worthwhile to see this movie, but having said that there's far more to this movie than one funny scene. It is a well-put together, well directed and well acted movie which is very funny and yet at the same time manages to address some very serious philosophical and theological questions along the way.
The story is surprisingly (and misleadingly) simple. Bruce is always complaining that God never gives him a break, so God (played extremely well by Morgan Freeman) decides to teach him a lesson by letting Bruce play God for a while. Bruce is given two restrictions on his power: you can't fool with free will (and I'm embarrassed to admit that I can't remember the second.) For a while Bruce finds his new powers fun, but then discovers the challenges. One person's free will can impact negatively on another's, and there's nothing even God - who grants free will out of love - can do about it. When Bruce finally sets himself to the task of trying to help others rather than just amuse himself, he also discovers that saying "yes" to every prayer (which so many people seem to think God should do) doesn't work very well, because some people's prayers contradict others. As a clergyman, I thought these points were made well - in a humourous vein, but noting the seriousness of the issue.
There were only a couple of things in the movie that didn't appeal to me. As I said, I can only remember one of the two conditions God placed on Bruce's use of His powers, but I am sure that one of them was NOT "you have to use your power to help other people." And yet, after Bruce amuses himself for a while, God comes to him and lectures him because he hasn't used his powers to help others. Huh? That was not one of the conditions. God became inconsistent in that moment. Also a note abut Jim Carrey: he is a very funny actor who falls into the trap of over-acting. He should let his humour flow a little more naturally. Sometimes he comes across as forced.
However, this is a great movie (also featuring a good performance from Jennifer Aniston as Bruce's girlfriend Grace.)
8/10