Jim Carrey Plays God In ‘Bruce Almighty,’ And Lets Others Into The Game

An old comic book geek like myself has been asked many a time (including once within the last month), “If you could have super powers, what would they be and how would you use them?” Well, I’ll never tell. But take that query and ratchet it up a few inestimable notches and you essentially have the crux of Jim Carrey’s latest flick, Bruce Almighty, which posits the question, “What would you do if God endowed you with all His powers for three weeks?”

Considering Carrey’s previous endeavor, The Majestic, was a critical and commercial dud, the smash success of this comedy, which is still among the top five films in the country and has grossed over $193 million at the box office, might have the rubber-faced superstar feeling a bit like someone pulled a miracle and resuscitated his career. (Alas, but I exaggerate. Carrey was in no danger of falling from Hollywood grace, considering that only three years ago he had a monster hit, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, that brought in over $250 million.)

Bruce Almighty, directed by Tom Shadyac (a longtime Carrey cohort who also helmed the star’s Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Liar Liar, as well as The Nutty Professor and Patch Adams), features Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a mild-mannered, jovial Buffalo news reporter who dreams of one day sitting in the anchor’s chair at his hometown TV station. In the meantime, he must content himself with such assignments as covering the baking of a world-record-breaking-sized cookie, all while his smooth-talking rival, Evan Baxter (Steven Carell), positions himself for a promotion to Bruce’s coveted position.

Bruce’s preoccupation with the inevitable slight leads to a knock down, drag out argument with his long-time girlfriend, Grace (Jennifer Aniston), and a subsequent railing-at-the-heavens rant about the injustices done him. As it turns out, God (played drolly by Morgan Freeman) has been listening. He temporarily grants Bruce his divine powers and challenges him to do a better job at running the universe.

The poster for Bruce Almighty features a mischievous-looking Carrey, puckishly grinning while literally holding the world on a string from his finger, and one might expect the veteran comedian to really cut loose with this premise. Granted there are a few laugh-out-loud moments as Bruce tests the reality of his newfound abilities (though, to Carrey’s credit, perhaps the funniest moment is not his, but is given to Carell, whose character is forced to uncontrollably spout gibberish while on the air), but – and I never thought I’d say this – the film might have unfortunately pulled its punches in terms of the comedy.

Certainly, the film’s producers must have realized that if they really pushed the envelope on this story, they might stray into some blasphemous territory, but in actuality, they might have stayed too far from the edge and thus not reaped all the benefits of a rich premise.

On the other hand, while Bruce Almighty might not be as riotously hilarious as it could have been, it is ultimately a stronger film overall than one might expect due to a very subtle sense of humor (pay close attention to many of Freeman’s lines and wry dialogue deliveries), some surprisingly keen observations (when Bruce begins to complain about the complexities of “the job,” he is reminded that he’s only dealing with his small corner of Buffalo, let alone the universe), and even a somewhat sappy, emotional core.

Also, as I alluded above, Carrey, though definitely sharp here and certainly the main star, avoids being a dominating force of nature and instead lets others have their share of the spotlight, especially the winning Freeman. Though Aniston isn’t given much of part to play, it is nice to see such familiar faces as Nora Dunn, Philip Baker Hall, Catherine Bell and even a cameo by a veteran crooner among the cast.

Bruce Almighty is rated PG-13 for language, sexual content and some crude humor.