'...and that's how the cookie crumbles' (Bruce Almighty (DVD))

Member Name: unnameable

Product:	Bruce Almighty (DVD)
Date:	29/02/04 (346 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very funny in places, Generally enjoyable

Disadvantages: mushy side-plot detracts from the feel of the rest of the film

Jim Carrey is a bit of a Marmite kind of guy (either love him, or hate him), but I?ve always been a fan of his films, as I?m a bloke with a very crude sense of humour. So, after spotting the trailer, I was looking forward to yet another film with funny faces and fart gags.

After reading up on the film I began to worry that this was going to be another sterile effort, as Carrey seems to have achieved a few times recently (barring the excellent Me, Myself & Irene). Was I right?

Released: 2003 by Universal Pictures
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 101 Minutes

Produced by: Tom Shadyac, Michael Bostik, James D Brubaker
Directed by: Tom Shadyac
Written by: Steve Koren, Mark O?Keefe & Steve Oedekerk

Cast:

Jim Carrey ? Bruce Nolan
Morgan Freeman ? God
Jennifer Aniston ? Grace Connelly
Philip Baker Hall ? Jack Baylor
Catherine Bell ? Susan Ortega
Lisa Ann Walter ? Debbir
Steven Carell ? Evan Baxter
Nora Dunn ? Ally Loman
Eddie Jemison ? Bobby
Paul Satterfield ? Dallas Coleman

Plot Outline:

Bruce Nolan is a man reaching his mid-life crisis. He is pushing 40 and feels he is stuck in a rut at work, and should have moved on to bigger and better things by now. He even is beginning to feel that his girlfriend, Grace, thinks that he is a failure.

At the start of the film we see him at work as a TV news reporter, seemingly given all the second-rate and ?quirky? outside broadcasts. When he discovers that he is on the shortlist for the news anchorman job (his dream job) he is over the moon. Thinking he is doing his last ever daft report, his heart sinks when the job is given to his rival, Evan Baxter, live on air! Naturally, he is a little upset. In fact, he completely loses it, and ends up getting fired and then beaten up outside the building! As ever, he blames everyone but himself. The main butt of the blame is God himself?

God becomes slightly fed up with
the torrent of blame and abuse so decides to teach Bruce a lesson (or help him, if you see it that way). God contacts Bruce through the holy medium of the pager, and arranges to meet him (not that Bruce realises that he is meeting God!)

The lesson being taught involves giving Bruce his godly powers to see how he would cope with it! As many people would do, Bruce abuses the power to get what he wants (at first), but gradually realises there is a huge amount more that he must be doing. He manages to alienate himself from everyone he knows and loves.

Will he get all that he wants from life?

My Opinion:

I sat down fully expecting a below-par effort from Jim Carrey, going on what I had previously heard/read of this film, but I am very glad to say I was oh so wrong! This has got to be one of the funniest films I have watched over the past few months. The occasional set pieces are excellent, and the gags flow thick and fast (although not as fast as some of his films!).

Compared to Carrey's earlier films such as The Mask and Dumb & Dumber, for example, this film is a much calmer, less madcap experience. Not to say it doesn't have the occasional classic Carrey moment, it just seems like a good, wholesome comedy.

Jim Carrey is as good as ever, but manages to hold back with the usual gurning and odd noises (some people may say this is a good thing!). He manages to switch from serious-mode to fool-mode with ease, and truly makes this film his.

Jennifer Aniston coped well with her role, and should easily make a name for herself as something more than ?her out of Friends?. I know she isn?t on screen nearly half as much as Carrey, but she still manages to put across the character she is portraying with ease.

Now Morgan Freeman was a fantastic casting choice as God. The man is a living legend and seems to relish playing the Almighty one himself! A top rate performance as ever.

The script itse
lf is pretty good, but wouldn?t have worked, I feel, had it not been Jim Carrey taking the lead role. It was a little patchy in places I suppose, but no major flaws on the whole.

The few special effects involved were very clever indeed. I?ll be sending a hefty pat on the back to the people behind them for one scene in particular (I won?t tell you any more than that otherwise I?ll spoil it!).

The only negative thing I have to say about this film is that the slightly mushy bit of the plot revolving around Bruce?s relationship with Grace tends to detract from the overall feel of the film. Although I must say it was nowhere near as bad as the cringeworthy sub-plot in Liar Liar! If it was removed from the film I think it would be all the better for it to be honest. Surely a film can have a ?rise & fall? plot without a slushy Hollywood-favoured sentimental addition?



Thanks for reading,

Marc

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