Jim Carrey is hilarious in his role as Bruce Nolan in the 2003 comedy film “Bruce Almighty,” written by Steve Oedekerk, Steve Koren, and Mark O’keefe, and directed by well-known comedy writer, director and author, Tom Shadyac. Self-centered Bruce is hit with one misfortune after the next, and when he does not get his dream job of evening news anchorman he angrily accuses God, who is portrayed by Morgan Freeman, claiming, “The only one around here not doing his job is you!” When Bruce finally meets God, in His multiple roles, (janitor and electrician) God explains that it is not as easy as Bruce thinks to keep everyone happy. Freeman excellently depicts a friendly, warm, and funny God who decides to give Bruce the power to take on the role of God and do anything he wants, and this is when things get really crazy. From trying to impress his girlfriend Grace, played by Jenifer Aniston, by bringing the moon closer, to messing with his hotshot, and more successful coworker, Evan, played by Steve Carell, Bruce takes advantage of his newfound powers, goes wild and fulfills his every desire. When he realizes he hasn’t done any good for anyone other than himself, he grants everyone just about anything they pray for without even a second thought about the greater good.
While this is a great movie if you are in the mood for some fun and laughs, there are a few scenes which are quite vulgar and may be offensive to some. For example, he plants drugs in his competitor’s news van, uses his powers to lift a woman’s dress up and to pleasure his girlfriend, gets his dog to urinate in the toilet, and often yells at and undermines God. Further, some may find Bruce’s goofy personality a bit overdone at times, such as when he can’t control his jealousy and makes Evan sound like a high-pitched idiot on live TV. Overall, however, the film is light, funny, and entertaining.
Alongside the silliness, the film addresses the religious belief in an omnipotent God. Is God really in charge of our lives, do we have free will and choice or is it both? As Bruce experiments with his newfound abilities he is told that one major rule is that he cannot infringe upon any person’s free will. In time, Bruce discovers that it’s pretty hard to grant everyone’s wish while still allowing them this free will. When his girlfriend leaves him, he cries out to God, “I want you to decide what’s right for me. I surrender to your will!” He soon realizes that things don’t work that way and that he is responsible for his own actions. At one point he asks God “How do you make someone love you without affecting free will,” and God’s answer is “Welcome to my world son.” Bruce’s relationship with God is often full of anger and discontent, however, it is honest and candid, and full of unconditional love, even if one-sided for most of the movie.
Loving and caring for others is another religious, central theme. Bruce eventually comes to realize that by indulging himself he has done nothing to improve the world. By the end of the movie, Bruce is no longer a selfish, pleasure-seeker. His concern for others is heartwarming, such as when he finishes up a photo album for his girlfriend, and finally congratulates Evan on his success. With various references to and quotations from the bible, such as, “and let there be light,” “and God saw it was good,” and the splitting of the red soup, this movie dangles religious ideas around, while still remaining a light, humorous and easy watch.
I highly recommend this movie as it is full of humorous wit, while still leaving the audience with much to think about in terms of philosophy and religion. It uses a great approach as it delves into a deep topic in a lighthearted, comical way.
The way that you viewed the movie as more than just a comedy was enlightening. It is interesting to think of the greater messages in a light hearted comedy such as this one. But, it does appear to have a greater religious meaning. The fact that there are references to the bible is an interesting fact to note because that means that the audience is intended to know bible references. And, that their religion coincides with the bible and how the movie portrays god.
The most appealing part of your review for me is that you take the religious beliefs into consideration. The fact that you talk about possible conflicts of interest that religious people might experience is really great. Some jokes can make certain people laugh and enjoy the comedy, while others can find it offensive. You present specific examples from the movie and give us the opportunity to decide for ourselves while sharing your own, positive opinion of the movie which is really mindful from your side and useful for the audience. The only thing you may consider talking about is the technical aspect to convince people even more to watch it.
Beginning the review of Bruce Almighty by mentioning Jim Carrey’s name was a great move since it would immediately attract the attentions of his many fans. Quoting Bruce’s conversations with God gives the audience a real sense of the humor surrounding what might at first seem to be an overly religious topic. This review also leaves the audience with a significant question to ponder. What exactly is the role of free will in our relationship, if we have one, with God and our significant other? That might motivate the purchase of a ticket. I do think that it was smart to warn prospective movie goers, especially parents with young children, about the vulgar scenes in the move. However, I think outlining them in detail is unnecessary in a movie review. In general, having enjoyed the film myself, I believe that this is a valid evaluation of one of Jim Carrey’s iconic movies.
Mentioning that Jim Carrey was the star of the movie early on was a good idea as it attracts his fans, however, you did not mention the other major actors until a little later in the review. Listing all of the major actors in the beginning would have engaged people who may not be fans of Jim Carrey, but are, perhaps, fans of Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, or Steve Carell. As for the evaluation of the movie’s themes, I think you did a great job explaining the deeper messages while also telling about the lighthearted, comedic tone of the movie. However, it seems like you are saying that only people who have beliefs that coincide with the movie’s depiction of God will be comfortable watching this movie. One message of the movie is that the real miracles are things that humans do and can do on their own, like helping each other or being kind, which you did mention, but I think you should have said it in a way that focused less on Bruce’s relationship with God and more on the human aspect. Overall, I think that you should have emphasized the human message more. Lastly, I feel like you make the movie sound like it is mostly about religious beliefs and believing in God, which is not the case. You said that the movie addresses the belief in God and that it makes you question whether or not there is free will, but the movie does not directly do that. Maybe one might have those thoughts after seeing the movie, but nothing in the movie begs these questions as they are already answered. In the movie, there is no question that there is an omnipotent God or that there is free will; those are just the fact of the world in which it takes place. My point is that after reading your review, someone would go into the movie expecting it to be directly addressing Godly beliefs and the question of free will, but that is not the case; the movie only provokes the audience to have those thoughts and questions through its themes.