Bruce Almighty Starring Jim Carrey, Jennifer Aniston Directed by Tom Shadyac Rated PG-13 for language, sexual content and some crude humor 1/4 out of Stars, Movie Grade: C+

Theatrical Release: May 23, 2003
Running time: 94 minutes

by Kevin Lang

The latest film starring Jim Carrey, "Bruce Almighty" had enjoyable moments of humor, overtop of a story that never seemed to become anything more than a backdrop for the movie's funnier moments.

Jim Carrey played Bruce Nolan, a television field reporter striving for an anchorman position at the local station. Bruce's work related aspirations seemed to eclipse everything else in his life, including his relationship with Grace (Jennifer Aniston). When Bruce lost another shot at anchorman to a conniving fellow reporter, he took out his aggressions on air and subsequently lost his job. He blamed God for his bad luck, and he wondered why God could let such awful things happen to him. Little did he know, God was listening.

I liked "Bruce Almighty" almost entirely for the humor, as God, played by Morgan Freeman, endowed Bruce with all of his powers. Bruce had to show God that he could do a better job at "running things" than God himself. Bruce's use of God's powers was enjoyable to watch and provided for some of the most entertaining moments of the film. This included Bruce parting tomato soup as if it was the Red Sea, controlling the speech of a devious coworker, and disrobing simply by lifting his arms. There was also a priceless scene with a monkey, which was one of the most hilarious scenes of the film.

"Bruce Almighty" however, despite its moments of humor, never fully developed when it came to the story, and thus it never manifested into a film that felt complete as a whole.

I never really came to care much about the relationship between Bruce and Grace, perhaps because I wasn't convinced that these characters cared deeply for each other. The two actors seemed to lack the chemistry to create the spark that the story needed. The filmmakers also forgot to make an attempt to show us why Bruce and Grace cared so much for each other. Instead, they expected the audience to feel attached to the relationship without ever giving the audience the chance to develop that attachment.

I never really got to know Grace either, nor did I immediately understand the level of her relationship with Bruce. We see them living together. They drive off to work together in the morning. However, the movie didn't reveal that Grace and Bruce weren't married until halfway through, which somewhat alienated me from a relationship that was supposed to be at the heart of the story.

In the end, "Bruce Almighty" wasn't as colossal as the title implies. However, it won't take many prayers for the film to be almighty at the box office. Jim Carrey was back in his old form, back doing what he does best, comedy.

"Bruce Almighty" Review written May 22, 2003, CTF.

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