Rating: Summary: Jim Carey is losing his comedic edge Review: Summary: Bruce Nolan (Jim Carey) is a TV reporter who is up against Evan Baxter (Steve Keller) for an anchor position that is opening up at his news station. When Bruce finds out he doesn't get the job, he makes a fool of himself berating Evan on live TV and is fired. This leads Bruce to rant against God, who happens to be listening, In order to teach Bruce a lesson about how hard it is to be God, the "Big Guy Upstairs" (Morgan Freeman) endows him with all of his Divine Powers. Immediately things begin to change, not only for Bruce, but for the rest of the world as well. Ironically, his powers are great enough to get his dream job, but they aren't enough to keep his girlfriend, Grace (Jennifer Anniston). 'Cause even God can't mess with free will. Eventually, Bruce recognizes that playing God isn't as easy as it sounds and that giving everyone what they want has some undesired consequences. The movie concludes with a predictable happy ending where Bruce straightens things out with Grace and Evan and returns the power back over to the man upstairs. My Comments: This does not rank among the best comedies I've seen. The jokes were too cheesy to deserve a belly laugh. Instead they received only an occasional chuckle from my friend and a couple of silent laughs from me. The allusions to religious miracles were somewhat forced. For example parting a bowl of red tomato soup and walking on water, were all really more silly than funny. Although I was not offended by the constant mockery of religion I didn't find it all that funny either. As far as the story goes, it was a creative premise. The story is light and although the basic story line is predictable, the movie is entertaining. Although this is not one of Jim Carey's best movies, the acting was OK. I can't really think of anyone that was absolutely terrible or anyone that deserves an Oscar nomination. This film is worth watching once, but it definitely doesn't fall into the group of classic comedies that you quote at parties with your friends. I'd recommend this movie for those who appreciate cheesy comedies like 'Dumb and Dumber' or 'Ace Ventura'. I don't expect it to become a cult classic like 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.
Rating: Summary: Divine Carrey for the Faithful Only Review: Dear Almighty! I am in a minority here, but Jim Carrey's latest collaboration with his Ace Ventura and Liar Liar director deserves three marks at best,and this is why, Bruce Almighty is a film tailored for Carrey and his abilities, which by far is not a bad thing, for he is one of the best comedy actors of his generation, but for me personally I can only take as much of his repetitive style of pulling faces and body and facial gymnastics, seen in most of his work. Carrey, especially seen in the outtakes, making ofs and interviews has an incredible and manic energy,a contagious and funny hyperactivity, and a hilarious unpredictablity, and what we see on screen does not differ greatly from the real person behind the characters he plays: 'method acting' is not something Carrey agonizes over to hit the right spot with his audience. Tom Shadyac is an able comedy director, who has worked well with Carrey and was responsible largely for reviving the box office appeal of Eddie Murphy. Jennifer Aniston, one of the few Friends who successfully crossed over to films, is cute, sweet and a good actress to boost And of course, there are very few people who are good enough to play 'God' on screen,and certainly Morgan Freeman is one. But I did find the film's message riddled with cliches about life, priorities, doing good, free will vs fate etc..By all means I do not expect all films to treat the subject of God, Creation and the meaning of life as philosophically as Kubrick,Tarkovsky or Scorsese did, it is after all a light comedy for all the family, nevertheless it was quite predictable, and naively treated. Carrey,a TV reporter pushing on forty, and out of job,complains about his lot in life and blames God for his bad luck. He, however,gets the chance from the Man himself to acquire divine powers to see if he can do better,and predictably enough we see him getting a fancy car and clothes,creating hit stories for his TV comeback,seeking revenge on the 'bad' people from a street gang to a snotty colleague.But with all his new powers he can not easily alter the free will of his girlfriend to come back to him, dumping him after catching him in a compromising position with a sexy anchor (the gorgeous Catherine Bell). This for me is too cliched,sugary and over sentimental to have its desired effect. There are few funny scenes in the film, especially the post it scene, but as one reviewer rightly put it, the before being God segment of the film is much funnier, while the after is pretty uneven. You will still enjoy Bruce Almighty, if you can never tire of Carrey's facial gymnastics,but I know too that Carrey has another acting side to him equally as brilliant,(the one in The Truman Show).This makes Bruce Almighty and the divine Jim Carrey a must buy for the faithful only.
Rating: Summary: Great Comedy Pleasure Review: This is a gem of a film, and one that I truly enjoyed. The humor was clever, and the role of God, played by Morgan Freeman delightful. My rating would have been 5 stars, but some of their best scenes ended up in special features as deleted scenes. Some of them clearly should have been included in the film, as they were excellent. For simple, enjoyable moving watching pleasure, this is well worth the time to view, and Jim Carrey is believable as a frustrated television reporter who feels his life tends to fail his expectations all too frequently. This is a film I have already watched several times since buying it, and recommend it to my friends, and readers here as a bit of divine delight.
Rating: Summary: What Bruce did on God's vacation Review: It's not "What if God Was One of Us?" but, instead, what if you were God because God wanted to take a vacation? Bruce Almighty is a very funny movie in no small part due to the supreme acting of Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman. Freeman plays God not as a stern taskmaster but someone who matter-of-factly passes on his wisdom and lessons. Freeman plays the Lord with a self effacing sense of humor and, not surprisngly, it works very well. Carrey plays a television reporter (the Bruce of the title)who's career has stalled; he's stuck doing the warm, fuzzy, funny segments on things like the biggest chocolate cookie ever baked. No one takes his aspirations seriously. All of this stands in the way of Bruce's biggest goal; to become the evening anchor person for his television station. His rival, played marvelously by the very funny Steven Carrell, has him beat at every turn. He even steals one of Bruce's sign off lines as he acknowledges acceptance on the air of the anchorman position. Director Tom Shadyac (Ace Ventura)brings out the best in Carrey. The comedy is a bit predictable and the script packed with cliches but that doesn't prevent Shadyac, Carrey, Jennifer Aniston (who has a thankless task as the love interest. All she is given to do is to "react". Some of her doubletakes do inspire a few chuckles but it's clear that Carrey is the center of attention here), Morgan Freeman and the rest of the cast from presenting some truly inspired scenes and acting. Comdies, like action movies, are now build around a number of set pieces, i.e., sequences that continuously rope you into the movie. Most films that rely on these set pieces don't have a very solid script. The script is a bit inconsistent although there are a number of sequences that stand out more than others. The DVD looks solid although there's quite a bit of digital artifacts in the way of compression issues during some the night sequences. If you purchased this DVD you'll also note a flaw and I'm pretty sure it was deliberate; everytime you start the movie up you're forced (like some of the Disney DVDs) to watch the coming attractions trailers. This trend was started by Disney and Universal takes it to absurd new heights; you can't bypass it unless you press the fast forward button on your DVD remote. The disc prevents you from accessing the main menu directly. It's annoying, poorly thought out and designed. It's also an example of the shoddy products that Universal has put out of late (including the incorrectly framed Back To The Future trilogy and the interlacing problems with Monty Python and The Meaning of Life which caused the image to blur anytime someone moves). Universal has had a large amount of problems with recalled DVDs of late. If this problem is an accident, I'm hoping Universal fixes the problem soon as this could be really annoying on lots of DVDs. If it was on purpose, they owe it to consumers to discontinue this practice and to correct the problem with the DVDs. Universal's email address is universal@dreamworks@leemarketing.com. If you're unhappy, let them know! Bruce Almighty is entertaining and, despite a couple of minor swear words, a fun movie. While a bit predictable, Bruce Almighty has a number of worthwhile moments and enough funny sequences to make it worth picking up.
Rating: Summary: Bruce Almighty Review: Sacrilegious people beware! Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey and Jennifer Anniston, offers a hilarious perspective on an ordinary person inheriting the divine powers of God. Mr. Bruce Knowland (Jim Carrey) is then left to care for the world as God goes on vacation. The film then takes on a much deeper perspective and shows this once ordinary man try to accomplish the extraordinary task of caring for the world. The movie begins with Bruce Knowland, an average field reporter for Channel 7 news, becoming the victim of a string of misfortunate accidents. His girlfriend of five years (Jennifer Anniston) tries to help him through his tough times. Mr. Knowland, of course, blames God for his misfortunes. After asking for the lord's help, and being ignored, Bruce becomes enraged. Bruce loses his job, his car, and all that is left of his respect towards a silent deity. After Bruce gives up, he receives a page. Someone has a job to offer him at a company called Omni Presents. Inside Omni Presents, Bruce meets the Almighty lord. Skeptical at first, Bruce ignores the man and leaves the building. But just before leaving, Bruce is given the divine power. After some hilarious scenes in which Bruce Almighty tests his newfound gift, God explains the rules. Bruce is free to do whatever he wants to except for two things. He can't tell anyone he is God, and he can't do anything to free will. God then leaves for vacation, and reminds Bruce that Bruce thought he could solve everything in five minutes. Bruce, an ordinary mortal with the power to do virtually anything, then sets out to correct the own wrongs in his life. He ignores the prayers running through his head for over a week. God then returns and asks Bruce how many people he has helped. Mr. Knowland, now feeling guilty, sets about the task of answering prayers. After hardly making a dent in the number of prayers received, Bruce Almighty replies yes to all. Immediately we can all see how cataclysmic of an action this is. Four Hundred Thousand people in the Buffalo, New York area win the lottery. Riots break out because they all only won roughly 17 dollars. Things of this nature continue on until Bruce Almighty realizes that a mortal such as himself is incapable of handling such a great task. All in all, Bruce Almighty is a must see movie. An ordinary man, blessed with the powers of the lord, is unable to cope with the divine responsibilities. Bruce uses the gift as he sees fit, and creates havoc in the streets. This movie, in my opinion, teaches a good lesson in humility. Remember, when the lord does things right, people won't be sure he did anything at all.
Rating: Summary: I am (not) God Review: This is obviously the best Jim Carrey movie ever. Most christians believe that this movie is an insult to God. Believe I am a christian and I thought this was the best Jim Carrey film yet. The comedy is outright hysterical and it also gets very sad toward the end. This a definite blockbuster and I rate this the #1 comedy of all time. This a definite must by for comedy lovers and christians alike.
Rating: Summary: The B-E-S-T Jim Carrey movie. Review: Hilarous, dramatic, and , just plain, hoobahummagooba! Who knows what that means, but, just rent the movie, watch it, and I gurantee, you'll wanna buy it!
Rating: Summary: Bruce Almighty Proves to Be a Mighty DVD Review: Before renting this film, I had heard only good reviews from critics & friends. I figured that something this talked would be worth watching, even though I rarely agree with the critics and often disagree with friends. I must say, they were right. Bruce Almighty was well worht the entertainment dollar. Mixing hilarious comedy moments with a light message proved to be successful for this, one of Jim Carey's better films. I won't go into the plot, as you can read that courtesy of Amazon, but I will say that it was well written and extremely well acted. I give this film 4 stars, and recommend it for anyone looking for a good laugh.
Rating: Summary: One Funny Film Review: I am not really a fan of Jim Carrey. I had seen Liar Liar and enjoyed it but that was about it until "Bruce Almighty" came along. This movie will have you laughing in no time and all the time. In some of his earlier movies he over did things to the point where they weren't funny but this time he's got a winner. You simply must see it.
Rating: Summary: Bruce Almighty Review: The funniest movie you will ever see. At one point in the movie, you will laugh non stop for a full 3 minutes. My cheeks hurt when I left the theatre. You HAVE to see this movie.
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