Bruce Almighty

5/24/03 - Review

Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) has always been the nice guy that gets the shit-end of the stick.  Things have not gone his way his entire life.  One day though, he gets fed up with all of it.  This day, however, happens to be the worst of his life.

Bruce works as a field reporter for Eyewitness News, a television outlet in the city of Buffalo.  After losing a job to a fellow worker, he gets fired and mugged on the way to his car which he happens to wreck into a pole later.  To top it all off, he gets in a fight with his five year old girlfriend, Grace (Jennifer Aniston) who is already impatient about not getting married.  Bruce blames it on one person, God.  Well God sets up a meet where Bruce can meet the one and only Heavenly Figure, God (Morgan Freeman).

God is a bit disgruntled with all of the attitude he has got from Bruce so he tells him to do his job.  So Bruce becomes endowed with all of God’s powers.  At first Bruce does not believe this but when he can manipulate or create anything, he becomes a believer.  With these new powers, Bruce becomes Mr. Exclusive at the radio station after creating a series of evens that become special new stories.  This leads to him receiving his most coveted desire, an anchor job.   

After discovering that Bruce has to do more than just help himself he becomes over burdened with the task of answering prayers.  He tries to take the easy way out by granting everyone’s prayers, but chaos and unrest develop in the city and he becomes much worse then when he started.  And by the way, his girlfriend left him too. 

This movie is a fast paced comedy with enough laughs to spare.  At one point in the movie, I thought I was going to burst a blood vessel after laughing so hard.  I did have tears coming out.  For the two thirds, it is basically all fun and games.  The final act becomes semi-serious but it is still fun to watch.  The movie is very predictable but what movies aren’t nowadays?  The formula works so why change it? 

Jim Carrey is back to his same old tricks in a comedy that actually has substance.  Whether is he making faces or crying in the rain, Carrey continues to amaze me as an actor.  He can do it all and his repertoire of movies show that.  It really vexes me to realize that he has not received an Oscar yet.  He does deserve one but he won’t for this movie sadly.  Still, he can go from comedy to serious with a flick of a finger.  How many actors can do that?  He plays the role perfectly.  Jim’s character is very believable in the nice guy role. 

The supporting cast of Jennifer Aniston and Morgan Freeman are great complements.  Even though I hate Friends, I like to see her films.  She is a beautiful actress that can fit in any role.  I liked her as Carrey’s wife in the movie.  They made a great match on the screen.  The chemistry was very vivid between the two. 

I liked Morgan Freeman as God even more.  Not many actors can pull of that role but for some reason it seemed like he was born for the role even though it was just a comedy.  Morgan is very calm yet powerful in his special role.  He even had a few wisecracks for Carrey. 

We all blame God for things from time to time and this movie is an example of that.  After watching the movie, you might feel otherwise about that and do things yourself.  You know he can’t help everybody all the time.    

Bruce Almighty is a very funny comedy with a good story that will entertain anyone that views it.  I recommend this movie to anyone looking for a good comedy.  It’s even worth the money despite the rising ticket prices.   

Grade

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