Sitting down in the theater this past weekend to watch Jim Carrey‘s new comedy “Bruce Almighty,” I was excited to finally see Carrey perform some of the old-school comedy that first propelled him into superstardom many years ago. Unfortunately, this latest film is dominated less by real humor and more by the script’s dramatic angle, which manages to transform “Bruce Almighty” into just another sappy romantic comedy.
Bruce Nolan (Carrey) is a mediocre news reporter who’s constantly assigned fluff pieces that are overshadowed by the more important stories delivered by Bruce’s nemesis, Evan Baxter (Steve Carell, formerly from Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show”). To make matters worse, Evan recently clinched the vacant anchor seat that Bruce also had his eye on.
Soon, Bruce begins to blame God for his problems, claiming that his prayers have been ignored by the Man upstairs. So God (Morgan Freeman) invites him for a chat and then endows his powers to Bruce, offering him the chance to do his job better. But as Bruce soon discovers, there is more to life than the material things he desires, like the love of his wife Grace (Jennifer Aniston).
This film’s major downfall is its lack of creativity once Bruce is blessed with God’s powers. Whereas others would use their newfound abilities to perform amazing feats, Bruce wastes his time with meaningless acts like parting his tomato soup and pushing traffic aside. In short, while Carrey’s humor is on target when it’s actually on display, the overall plot of “Bruce Almighty” differs drastically from what we’re shown in the trailers. The script still houses a few laughs, but overall it undoubtedly stops short of a great Jim Carrey comedy.
3/5 Stars
Starring: Jim Carrey, Jennifer Aniston, Morgan Freeman, Steve Carell
Director: Tom Shadyac
