WORTH WATCHING FOR JENNIFER ANISTONS ORGASM ALONE! (Bruce Almighty (DVD))

Member Name: DJBorley

Product:	Bruce Almighty (DVD)
Date:	27/03/05 (1362 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny in places, Good cast, Original plot

Disadvantages: Not as funny as it could be

Bruce Almighty

I used to work for a company that mad signs. Banners, fascias, car vinyl signs, you name it, we did it, and as a store we operated on a “Minimum order: £25” policy. A few months before I left the company a gentleman come into the shop and ask us to make some vinyl measuring approximately 8 feet wide, saying: “It’s all done in kindness”, which he wanted to apply to the middle of a dance floor.

Whilst we were taking down his details, and working out a price, he started telling us a story. There was a great guy who had lived locally. He was the type of person that everyone got on with, and he was always happy to help others out. Though he was well-respected, and good at the things he did, he was ultimately very poor. This was because, when doing work for friends and neighbours, when it came to payment his reply would always be the same: “It’s all done in kindness”, with a waiving of any fee and a smile. Hence, he was a very popular man, respected by friends and family, and rich in love and friendship, but ultimately poor in every other way.

The vinyl that was being requested was to be laid onto a hall dance floor, in memory of the recent passing of this man. The cost to our company for the work that we had to do in supplying this vinyl was minimal, and the cost to the customer should be £25, though the three of us that heard this story were quick to agree that the best thing to do would be to give the vinyl away: “It’s all done in kindness”. That is very much the moral behind this film.

* Synopsis

Jim Carrey plays Bruce Nolan, a local Eyewitness News TV reporter in Buffalo, New York, who is most well known for his human-interest stories, which he spices up with his natural charisma and spark in front of the camera. This skill at making others laugh seems to make everyone happy but him. Bruce himself would much rather be taking the soon-to-be-filled position of co-anchorman.

Bruce essentially feels disconnected with everything in his life and option complains loudly about it. His loving girlfriend, Grace (Jennifer Aniston), who runs a day care centre, adores Bruce despite this constant moaning. When Bruce is handed the opportunity of covering the 23rd anniversary of Niagra Falls' famed Maid of the Mist boat, which is a live link, normally done by Evan Baxter, Bruce’s main rival for the co-anchorship, he finally thinks that his luck is about to change, and that he is being prepared for the co-anchor role, which is always done live.

Unfortunately for Bruce the announcement that the vacated position has gone to Evan Baxter is made live just seconds before the camera cuts to Bruce’s piece. Life seems to have kicked Bruce squarely where it hurts again, this time humiliating him in front of millions of viewers. With Evan making a seemingly off-the-cuff speech about the community, which is actually almost identical to one that Bruce had made the previous day on a piece that never aired, Bruce’s frustration is compounded. With the cameras still rolling, Bruce has an on-air meltdown:

“First off, let me just add another congratulations to Evan Backstabber, pardon me, Bastard. Baxter, rather! It is good to see what someone with real talent can do when great opportunities are given to them instead of me!”

Thanks to this outburst, Bruce is fired, and as he leaves the station and tries to intervene on a gang teasing a blind person, he gets beaten up. When he manages to get up, he realises that his car has been vandalized.

Furious at his luck and life, Bruce crashes his car before getting out and challenging the Lord:

“Come on! Let’s see a little wrath! Smite me, oh mighty smiter! You’re the one who should be fired! The only one around here not doing his job is you! Answer me!”

Almost instantly his pager begins bleeping with a number that Bruce doesn’t recognise, and it continues to bleep until he calls the number, eventually setting up a meeting with God (Morgan Freeman), who gives Bruce almighty powers, challenging Bruce to see if he can do a better job, and there are only two rules: “You can’t tell anybody you’re God, believe me you don’t want that kind of attention, and you can’t mess with free will.”

And so we follow Bruce as he tests his powers: Parting tomato soup, producing spoons from nowhere and generally getting used to his new abilities until he starts using them to affect his surroundings. Within a week his life has improved dramatically, though he seems to have forgotten that being God is about more than pleasing just one person.

* Cast

Jim Carrey plays the lead, Bruce Almighty, and seems to revert back to comic genius, after a couple of years in general wilderness. This role sees Carrey back at his best, and there are times when you can see the quality that shone so brightly in Ace Ventura and The Mask. Re-teaming with Tom Shadyac, who directed Carrey in both Ace Ventura and Liar Liar, it seems as though the pairing works well again.

Jennifer Aniston plays Grace Connelly, and holds her own extremely well against Carrey, who is obviously a larger than life lead. In fact, I would go so far as to say that she steals the show with her “Orgasm” scene, which, although not up to the standard set by Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, certainly shows a side of Aniston that we’re not used to seeing, and leaves a lasting memory once the film is over.

Morgan Freeman once again settles into a “Father figure” role, as we have become accustomed to seeing him act. From films such as Se7en and Along Cam e A Spider, Freeman always seems to play the character from which the other roles learn, and someone they respect. Playing God is obviously the highest father figure role that he could play, and as always, he pulls it off supremely and is the perfect straight man to Carrey’s joker.

* Overall

This film has received pretty good reviews throughout the USA, with many thinking along the same lines as myself – that Jim Carrey is back to his best. With three lead roles all fitting together superbly, and in Aniston’s case, finally shaking off the film voodoo that seems to have hit her Friends co-stars, this film really works well.

Although the message behind it all is sickly-sweet and seemingly movie-standard, it’s still a feel-good film that has you thinking about your own actions and reactions, and has you pondering several “What if’s”: What IF all our prayers were answered? What IF we had God-like powers? What IF we had several million prayers to answer?

By no means the best comedy out, this is still a heart-warming story which tugs on the heart-strings. It’s not necessarily a film that I’d rush out to see again, but it’s not something that I’d resent having paid to see. No special effects of real note, no clever twists or plot-lines, and no open-endings allowing for a sequel to be made, just a nice movie with a talented cast.

* Other

The official website is http://www.brucealmighty.com, and the trailer can be viewed through the same site, or by going direct to http://www.brucealmighty.com/index2.html#. There is even a link on the site to buy official props from the movie.

Did the customer who wanted his sign to read “It’s all done in kindness” get a freebie sign? Unfortunately not. What do you think this is, Hollywood? …

Four stars ****

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