Bruce Almighty (Full Screen Edition)

Rating:
Summary: The Funniest Movie In Years
Review: Bruce Almighty is Jim Carrey's best work in years, which is probably due to the fact that he is working with a good script instead of trying to carry the entire load with just his talent. There are plenty of laughs throughout, and the story never drags. I highly recommend this film.

Rating:
Summary: LAUGH OUT LOUD COMEDY! ...
Review: Synopsis

Bruce Almighty stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a "human interest" television reporter in Buffalo, New York who is discontented with almost everything in life, despite his popularity and the love of his girlfriend Grace (Jennifer Aniston). At the end of the worst day in his life, Bruce angrily ridicules and rages against God - and God responds. He appears in human form (Morgan Freeman) and, endowing Bruce with all of His divine powers, challenges Bruce to take on the big job and see if he can do it any better. I really enjoyed watching this movie, I honestly think its one of the best Comedy movies.

Rating:
Summary: Predictable
Review: In tribute to how bad this movie was, I didn't laugh for the first half hour. In another tribute to how bad this movie was, not even the outtakes were funny. In traditional style Jim Carry parades across the screen with his brand of humor. What's intriguing about this movie is how his character and natural ability would bring out the humor when combined with the power of God. Yes, it's an indulgence surely common to all humans. That 'WhatIf' of life, what if I had the power to do this, to create that... and on a level Bruce Almighty suceeds in that arena, succesfully drawing on some emotion and creating the conundrum in that simply being endowed with power in and of itself does not connote wisdom or the ability to solve the problems of the world. This is illustrated well in the movie and comes off only slightly preachy, which I don't mind considering the heady material being covered anytime one approaches a subject like what is it to be God. But that's where this movie gets you; it doesn't know whether to be a drama or a comedy. Uncomfortably tense moments only midly soothed by comedic highlights and the worst part is that the funniest bits of this movie only occur because of the God power, not because of any great part of Jim Carry or the horrible writing behind this script. It's almost as if every gag has to be followed up be outrageous humor in order to 'make' the gag itself funny. Potentially a great movie, it is marred by a bad script, a lack of focus and direction, and a lack of the genuine touch of the 'divine spark'.

Rating:
Summary: quite alrighty
Review: this movie is hysterical. a must see. jim carrey plays bruce nolan a local news reporter. he gets fired and gets mad. that's when god morgan freeman comes to the rescue. this movie could never be better.

Rating:
Summary: The greatest curse is also the most coveted wish...
Review: BRUCE ALMIGHTY marks the return of Jim Carrey to his ideal type of movie- a more highly evolved film reel than what was represented by his Ace Ventura days but something less than an all-out assault to build a souped-up vehicle powerful enough to win that cutthroat annual race for the coveted gold statue bearing the name of a green garbage-loving grouch who lives on a street named Sesame; this isn't a pet detective, this isn't a dramatic biopic of a deceased comedian (not that there was anything necessarily wrong with either of those approaches, it should be noted). What BRUCE ultimately ends up being is a complete mainstream production, ready and approrpriate for a wide demographical spectrum, an escape into benign cinematic trappings which nevertheless succeeds in differentiating itself from the rest of its genre clan by benefiting from one of the best scripts of its kind.

Carrey is Bruce Nolan, a middling reporter for the local news station trapped in a hellish state where maximum potential for career advancement has been prematurely reached. He's sick to death of being obligated to cover such puff pieces as the biggest cookie ever to be baked; such banal Americana is beneath him now, he wants to stretch his wings and score the prime anchor spot next to the curvaceous and comely Susan Ortega, played by the lovely Catherine Bell. When he is passed over for that spot- given to his arch nemesis, one of those annoying coworkers who always gets what someone else deserves because that's just the way the politics of life play out- he has a nervous breakdown and gets into a heated argument with his girlfriend Grace (Jennifer Aniston).

There is another, more important argument, however- Bruce spews forth an incendiary blast of invective towards old Alpha himself, God. Morgan Freeman brings the Good Lord to life, and he brings Bruce to his office to have a few words with him. So, you think this is easy, Bruce? You think you've been slighted and that I'm the cause of all your problems? How about this...I take a long overdue holiday and you can be in charge of things while I'm gone. How does that sound? Well, of course it sounds great. After Bruce gets through the initial excitement of looking up pretty girls' skirts and parting a sea of automobile traffic like he was a commuting Moses, he sets about getting his reporting career back on track (a mighty fast and furious one, to be sure); he also attempts to impress his love Grace with his newfound powers. Soon, however, his messianic honeymoon is over; as Peter Parker's gentle Uncle Ben once advised his superhero nephew, great power demands an even greater sense of responsibilty. Being God is a metaphysical coin, and we all know that a coin always has two sides; when that other, darker side starts to reveal itself, Bruce realizes that, in reality, he's only human after all, and he seeks counsel with his new mentor.

BRUCE is, to one degree or other, a masterpiece; in a sense, it is an Oscar caliber film which got that way because it didn't try to be pretentious. Inarguably, its first and foremost goal was to be an uplifting morality tale told through the cloned filter of a Liar Liar-type mechanism; it was that, certainly, but, as previously implied, it transcended to another level by virtue of the ubiquitous skill present within the words and ideas expressed on the screen...the writing was, simply put, surreal in its quality. Many will take that as an overblown statement, and perhaps such a declaration is indeed a bit too colorful and grandiose; yet, there was an eerie perfection in the balance of the story, an equilibrium in play which saw every character and concept receive just the right amount of attention. And the concepts offered supported a philosophical base which was as poignant as it was entertaining.

A fascinating observation to make about the piece is its essential existence as a binary entity; there is a clear bifurcation seen whereby two different tonalities share equal importance- what starts out as a manic, extreme comedy of slapstick circumstance evolves almost imperceptibly into a dramatic examination of life and love and their respective vagaries. Many films of this kind follow a similar template, of course, but the stytlistic expression in this case was handled with uncommonly accomplished technique. What makes everything work so well- besides the direction and the script- is the perfect casting job, especially of the principals; Carrey is the only person who coud play Bruce, and Freeman is one of the only people who could take on the hardest role ever conceived (other people could be thought of for God, since the role lends itself in a way to a certain resistance of specificity, but in this context and dynamic, Freeman really proved himself, imbuing the eternal creator with a powerful understated dignity which still managed to exude holy authority).

Bruce Almighty delivers a riotous collection of laugh-extracting physical humor and pithy dialogue. It is also a Twilight Zone episode, seen through the lens of the multiplex-friendly movie, making it a deeper experience than something like Anger Management. Worthy of a recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Feel The Power Of "Bruce Almighty"!
Review: Some of Jim Carrey's past movies contain a hit and miss premise (parts of "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and spots of "The Cable Guy", for example). But, as far as "Bruce Almighty" is concerned, Carrey's performance as a sideline reporter for a local television station is spot on. Bruce Nolan (Carrey) is one man who has all sorts of problems he cannot shake: he's the owner of a dog who isn't potty trained, and he has a job that he isn't particularly fond of. Throw in a lemon of a car no one would even think of owning, and he's not quite the envy of everyone around him; not even amongst his co-workers. The only one content with Nolan's life, is his passive wife (portrayed by Jennifer Aniston). An incident at work would change Nolan's life forever. Upon learning that a co-worker at the station (which is WKBW Channel 7 in Buffalo, New York - an actual TV station, by the way) is being promoted to the nightly news achor desk, Nolan has a hissyfit on the air during an important live interview segment, leading him to be terminated by the station. Then, nothing goes right for our hero, until, help arrives from...Guess who? "The Lord Almighty" (featuring Morgan Freeman in a rare "semi-comedic" performance), who's been watching over and observing Nolan's life forever, grants our hero enormous super powers, and the tables are suddenly turned. Nolan uses his new powers in sometimes strange and precarious ways, yet makes everything that was previously wrong, right again, and the world is suddenly a better place, right? Sometimes, as is often the case, having such control can be your personal enemy, as Nolan would soon find out. Although the comedy present in "Bruce Almighty" is sprinkled with a smattering of quintessential Jim Carrey nuttiness, it is the overall premise of the plot which enhances the wackiness contained within. Yes, the folks out in Hollywood have produced their share of bombastic flicks from time to time, but they have created a sheer majestical masterpiece with "Bruce Almighty" (even though there are some very minor blurry spots somewhere in the beginning and toward the end). It would be most recommended to see this film soon, before it "vanishes" into thin air. But, miss the parting of "The Red Soup", then ye shall be damned!

Rating:
Summary: Mighty Fun
Review: Bruce Nolan is so angry with God that he blasphemes Him. So God decides to give Bruce all of his powers. What will happen? Just see the movie and find out.

Jim Carey does his usual body antics, but they are toned down--an excellent mix of exaggeration and true acting. With Jennifer Aniston as his girlfriend, Grace--who does a good cross between her role on 'Friends' and something more serious. Some obvious, almost ridiculous gags...and some that are more subtle. Enjoy!

PG-13: One use of the f-word, otherwise mild language, and some sexual content.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but...
Review: Nothing is going well in Bruce's life, so he starts blaming and denouncing God. So God issues a challenge to Bruce: Take my job and see if you can do better. Bruce starts out helping himself while ignoring others, and his quick fix causes chaos in the area of Buffalo, New York where he lives and influences with his God-given powers. The ending is cliched, and there is a major plot hole- Bruce's girlfriend seems oblivious to the fact that some things aren't quite right. It wasn't as funny as I would have liked, but it's still a worthwile movie to see.

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying, yet unsatisfying.
Review: First the good news. There are laugh out loud moments in this film. But, those funny moments occur despite a rigid, rather lame script that has a number of opportunities to go off on creative tangents, but chooses, instead, to stick with cliches and a warm, fuzzy, and uninspired ending.

This film is all about Jim Carrey, of course. The rest of the cast is mere window dressing. Jennifer Aniston is pleasant as a mild-mannered, and ultimately forgettable, love interest. Morgan Freeman is a good choice to plan God, but he isn't given much to work with. Most of the scenes are cliches after cliches. Thankfully, Jim Carrey can make even a cliche work, and he does in a number of instances. In the more dramatic moments, however, his performance grows thin, revealing the same insecurities and weaknesses that were evident in his earlier work, including The Mask (where he could not carry any of the dramatic interludes between the hilarious comedic pieces). What happened to the Jim Carrey of The Truman Show? Frankly, I suspect it's all about the director. Tom Shadyac simply isn't a very good one. This is, after all, the "director" who brought us drech like Patch Adams and Liar Liar.

And it is worth noting the surplussage of cliche scenes--including a dinner scene where the woman thinks that her date will propose, but he has no such thing in mind; the encounter with a gang, and exacting of revenge; etc. There's also plenty of low brow humor, which has come to be Shadyac trademark. Without Carrey to pull it off, much of it would fall flat.

So how does it all pan out? For me, the laugh out loud scenes make it worth seeing. It's been a while since Jim Carrey has let loose to get laughs, and, if you're a fan, that alone is worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Almighty, Then...
Review: Jim Carrey stars in Bruce Almighty, a comedy about an average man who's down on his luck and blames God for all of his problems. Bruce (Carrey) lives in a very nice apartment and has a very beautiful and loyal girlfriend played by the lovely (and she's getting lovelier) Jennifer Aniston. However as a news reporter, Bruce is treated with no respect and watches as his undeserving colleagues advance and get all the great positions he has always wanted.

Aside from work, Bruce runs into many problems in his daily life such as wrecking his car, getting mugged while trying to help a homeless man and having a dog that goes to bathroom on his carpet. After problems begin to stack on each other Bruce takes his frustration out on the man upstairs, calling him the mean bully holding the magnifying glass over all of the ants in the world. That's when Bruce meets up with God, played by Morgan Freeman, who gives Bruce his powers for 7 days to see what it's like being God Almighty. God tells him to do what he will with his powers, but he can't mess with free will.

This is when the movie begins for most people, Bruce has the powers of God and of course he goes on a wacky rampage of revenge and seeing what all his powers can do. This is when Carrey gets to shine. For me, this is where the movie ends. For years, ever since Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb & Dumber graced our screens, Jim Carrey has desperately tried to top his performances and has failed every time. Bruce Almighty is no exception to the rule. Yet another film tailor made for Carrey to walk around, be silly and do what he does best.

In my opinion Carrey is best when he takes roles that weren't specifically made for him. From The Cable Guy, to Liar Liar to Me, Myself & Irene and now Bruce Almighty, Carrey has played the average joe down on his luck who ends up triumphing over his shortcomings in the most elaborate hijinks possible many many times. And while Carrey is no doubt a very funny man, it seems nothing he can do can ever compare to the days when he was starving to make it in Hollywood and ultimately made better choices in film roles.

I admit, a part of me did really enjoy Bruce Almighty, especially once I realized how predictable the formula was going to be. Aniston does a great job playing Grace, the strong, supportive girlfriend who deserves far better than the self involved Bruce. Aniston also out performs Carrey in every way imaginable showing something Carrey doesn't know much about, subtlety. Freeman does a fantastic job playing God. If I were to pick any celebrity to be God, it'd be him. Freeman has a way of melting your heart and soothing your worries all at the same time.

As for Carey, his acting skills come around toward the end when he realizes his selfish ways and decides he doesn't want to be God, but just a better man. I give this film 3 stars because it loses a star for Carrey trying way too hard as usual and another star for being way too predictable. Nothing happens in this movie that you can't guess 5 minutes into the film. But with fine performances from Aniston and Freeman, I'd say this film has been blessed.