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Bruce Almighty (2003)



Bruce Almighty (2003)



6/10



Starring
Jim Carrey
Jennifer Aniston


Directed by Tom Shadyac

What if you had the role of God? Do you think you would have done a better job?

Bruce Almighty may not be a critic’s favorite, with weak CGI, a not-so-perfect script, and many loose ends, but it’s one funny movie. The wonderful chemistry between Jim Carrey and Jennifer Aniston made them a beautiful on-screen couple, trying to cope with the things life dishes out at you.

And my favorite line in the movie came when Bruce was trying to stop Grace (Jennifer Aniston) from leaving him: Bruce: “You can’t leave me, I’m the Alpha, baby. I’m the Omega, lady.”

Bruce Almighty is a slapstick comedy, something Carrey fits into easily. The movie is funny, and the ideas the writers brought to the screen to show the height of selfishness in the heart of a man with power were something I found to be true.

One idea that can be said to have been taken from Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) is when Bruce actually lassos the moon—something George Bailey said he was willing to do for Mary in the scene where both walked home singing “Buffalo Gals.”

Directed by Tom Shadyac, whose first directorial film was also with Jim Carrey in the Ace Ventura series (the only movie Carrey did a part two of), the movie revolves around Bruce (Jim Carrey) complaining about how God isn’t being fair to him. One day, he gets a visit from the Almighty God (Morgan Freeman), who gives Bruce the powers to do as he pleases.

But things turn from sweet to sour when Bruce learns a hard lesson: being God isn’t as easy as he thought.

Although highly criticized, the movie has a huge cult following (I’m included, as I’ve seen this movie countless times). At the box office, it made over 480 million dollars (its production cost was 81 million) during its theatrical run. No matter what the critics say, you just want to see what Bruce did with God’s power.

A sequel, Evan Almighty, was made in 2007, with Jim Carrey refusing to reprise his role as he doesn’t like playing the same character twice. The movie did have Morgan Freeman reprise his role as God, and this time the central character was Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), the antagonist from the first film. Evan Almighty was a financial blunder, not recouping its production cost at the box office. I’ve seen it, and I can just advise you to stay away from it.

Bruce Almighty is funny and fun, although not much of a family film, but you’ll like it.

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