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Bruce Almighty (2003) |
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OVERVIEW -
Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a whiny TV news
reporter whose human-interest stories don't interest him at all. His
girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) loves him despite his negative take on the
world. But when Bruce is fired, he asks once again why God has decided to
give him so much grief. It turns out that God (Morgan Freeman disguised as
a janitor!) is tired of hearing Bruce's complaints. The almighty offers
Bruce his all-encompassing job, giving him absolute power for one week in
the hopes of proving to him how tough it is to run the world. Starring Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Bell, Philip Baker Hall, Lisa Ann Walter, Steve Carell, Nora Dunn Director(s) Tom Shadyac Screenwriter(s) Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe, Steve Oedekerk Studio Universal |
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The film sees a
nice TV reporter called Bruce (Jim Carrey) endowed with the powers of God after
his whingeing gets so severe that God himself (Morgan Freeman) gives his
power to Bruce while he, God, pops off on a vacation. I can't decide whether or not I like Jim Carrey. He undoubtedly has talent, and is a pretty funny guy to boot. But often he is just annoying. Still, in this flick he at least reigns himself in enough to be watchable. Morgan Freeman on the other hand is probably one of the best actors that has ever lived, and definitely the best black actor ever. He is a black Sean Connery. Graceful, confident and with a larger than life presence onscreen. He alone adds a star to this movie review. Anyway, at first Bruce is skeptical about these powers, but he eventually comes to enjoy them and uses them in a series of pretty funny events that range from seducing his girlfriend Grace (Jennifer Anniston) to taking revenge on a back-stabbing co-worker at his job as a television reporter. (Actually this scene alone added another star to the rating. One of the funniest ever scenes of a news anchorman with no control over his mouth or his other orifices! An absolutely hilarious addition to the movie which had me breathless with laughter.) Bruce uses his powers to push his career, as he develops a reputation as Mr. Exclusive thanks to his 'divine' ability to be on the spot for all manner of spectacular events that oddly seem to happen when Bruce is covering his usual mundane human-interest stories. Naturally things are all not fun and games, as Bruce comes to learn that with great powers comes great responsibilities, (yawn!) and is reminded by God that he has yet to use his powers to help anyone other than himself after his first week on the job. Bruce is then forced to learn that his actions, no matter how well meaning, can have unforeseen negative reactions. Even though the film is a bit preachy the director does a good job at keeping things light and funny, concentrating on the laughs, of which there are many. Occasionaly though we are insulted by some pretentious pearls of wisdom pertaining to God, happiness, and life. The ending is 'barfs-ville'. And this cost the movie a star. What is it about the need to shove some shallow moral virtues down our throats in a movie? Do we really have that need to know that the rightious will always do good, and being naughty is the devils work? Sanctimonious bollocks as far as I can see. Stop it, Hollywood. It's a fucking embarresment. Well, after that is said and done, the film is still a good one. It is pretty funny and enjoyable, overall, and "Bruce Almighty" will make you laugh and you will leave the theater better off for having seen it. | |||
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| Clubhouse Clints movie review archives... | |||
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About me... Hi, I'm Clint, and I have been asked to do a movie review column for AsiantTS.com, or more specifically the magazine that accompanies it: The Clubhouse. I am a writer based in Asia and Europe, and I have been widely published worldwide. I enjoy watching movies, and have written at length on this genre for many years. | |||
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| Email the stogie at [email protected] | |||
