Review of Bruce Almighty (2003) by Neil C — 18 Jun 2014

Despite the obvious allure of having Morgan Freeman take on the role of a lifetime in God, there is way too much wrong with this film to give it any sort of positive review.

At the head of the list of troubling factors in this movie is its lead star, Jim Carrey. By this point in his career, Carrey had well and truly moved into a typecast form of schtick, making weird noises, stupid faces and doing a tremendous amount of falling over. It was only mildly amusing the first time, and by this stage the act was completely stale and devoid of laughs.

Some of his co-stars, notably Freeman and Steve Carell, put in solid, if not outstanding, performances to try and balance this, but others, notably Jennifer Aniston, go completely on autopilot, which is highlighted next to Carrey's wacky performance.

Additionally, this film promotes the idea that asking God for help can solve your life's problems like flicking an on-swich - an idea that may well hold weight in southern America, but one which I personally find problematic. I know it's a comedy, but the oversimplification of these things isn't something I approve of nonetheless.

Overall, bit of an up and down film really. More down than up though.