What if God was one of us?
Rating: 4/10
Running Time: 101 minutes
UK Certificate: 12A
If God's ever using His day of rest to catch up on the latest movies and happens to stumble upon "Bruce Almighty", here's hoping He doesn't get any ideas. Apart from maybe to strike Jim Carrey down with a giant bolt of lightning, that is.
Having seen his "serious" work meet a more or less lukewarm reception, Carrey returns to his roots in this simultaneously obnoxious and overly-sentimental comedy. That inevitably means lots of cripplingly unfunny face-pulling and the undying need to appear in practically every scene, along with a return to working with director Tom Shadyac. Shadyac brought us both "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and "Liar Liar" and, if you thought those two flicks were a heap of mince, chances are you won't think much higher of this latest venture.
Carrey plays Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck regional news reporter who takes the hump with God after losing his job and seeing his mutt piddle on the furniture once too often. So appeareth Morgan Freeman as the Almighty, basically with the message "let's see if you can do any better". So, new powers in tow, Nolan sets about landing the top news anchorman gig, teaching the local bullies a lesson, and making the wind blow up girlie's skirts so he can sneak a fly butcher's at their knacks.
Despite containing some decent gimmicks such as parting his tomato soup a la Moses at the Red Sea this Carrey kick-start vehicle is long and tiresome. The writers show little imagination in giving Carrey some genuinely entertaining ways of using his power, and the acting is poor at best. Jennifer Aniston is working beneath herself alongside Carrey's screen-hugging, Freeman is good only in comparison to his laughably bad performance in "Dreamcatcher", and as for the star he'd do well to realise that being the loudest doesn't always mean you're the funniest.
It's Got: Jim Carrey looking completely underwhelmed at the idea of coming face-to-face with The Creator.
It Needs: A story that doesnt hinge on growing more and more unbearably sentimental as it goes on.
Summary
Typical Carrey comedy it's got a few funny moments, but more often than not it's just plain annoying.