Bruce Almighty

Probably been longer than 10 years since I've seen this.

Has time aged a film almost 2 decades old? God only knows but I'll tell you what I think anyway. I had no clue whatsoever this movie even existed until one day either my mom or my Nan handed the DVD to me, and me still being the young and enthusuastic Jim Carrey fan I was, I immediately went for it. A movie where Jim Carrey was God, I mean he wasn't that far off when I was younger and I enjoyed it a lot. Looking back, I still had a good time with it but I will admit I didn't love it as much. Not to say the story isn't a very good and interesting one, with a news reporter who feels very down on his luck and left behind in the dust is contacted by the Almighty who grants him all of the heavenly powers to see if he can do better. A fascinating concept, albeit a very predictable because ohhh our main character is a human, a very fallable, kinda self centered, average human. Of course he would use such power for entirely selfish reasons but something I applaud in the writing is not only the fact that Bruce isn't a complete ass and totally irredeemable, but his actions as an all powerful figure have consequences almost from the start. Any other film would just brush it off and not even acknowledge that oh yeah if he made the moon that big, the oceans would go mental, and all that stuff. Well done. In fact there really isn't a real antagonistic force in the movie, apart from perhaps human hubris and being vain. But it's great to see a movie confront that in some sense. Jim Carrey though not as hilarious in other films gives a good performance, balancing jokes and body humor akin to Ace Ventura and The Mask to more serious and dramatic points like Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine, and yes I could tie reference string to all those and more within his filmography. Jennifer Aniston though not as prevalent as I would like or as grand as she is in more recent years is great to see and sells everything beautifully. Morgan Freeman, I'm not saying a word. No really, there is no point, we all know it. You know it, I know it, your great-great-grandparents know it, your unborn children know it. I will however bring up a certain discussion point, what about this performance wowed so many people? Because I'm fairly certain if you flat out asked people what do you think God looks like, I think a good chunk of them unironically would say Morgan Freeman. There's a reason they gave him the host duties of a show called The Story Of God. I rest my case. Now, this is where I act kinda like a dick. You know that scene, probably the most famous scene of the movie when Bruce makes Evan have a verbal meltdown on the news? I think that's breaking one of exactly two rules set for him by God, don't tell anyone you're God and don't mess with free will. He is messing with free will! He might as well have shoved his hand up Evan's backside like a puppet, I call plothole. 3/10! But in all seriousness, it's a decent movie that has good stuff in it and even if you're not slightly resembling a religious person can still enjoy it a fair bit. We all know the best part, and I'm happy such a thing came to pass. 3 stars, 7.5/10! And I will not be reviewing Evan Almighty tomorrow but something a lot more different from a television writer I enjoy a great deal.