Bruce Almighty DVD
Universal Music Video Dist
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Length: 102 minutes
Director: Tom Shadyac
Year: (2003)
Britt Gillette's Bruce Almighty DVD Review
Personally, Bruce Almighty is my favorite Jim Carrey comedy ever. It's never outlandish in its approach, and at times, it's quite serious and adult. Carrey plays the role of Bruce Nolan, a local television reporter always assigned to cover the less than thrilling events in and around his town. Dreaming of one day attaining the anchor's chair, he works hard to shed his funny guy image.
Bruce lives with his girlfriend Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston), but the two get into a fight when Bruce (who finds out he lost his bid for anchorman to the underhanded Evan Baxter) flies off the handle and loses his job. Unhappy with his life, and constantly blaming God for it, Bruce is mad at the world. In the interim, he continues to receive numerous pages from an unknown phone number. When he calls the number, he's offered an interview for the job of his life. Curious, Bruce attends the interview in an all-white building where he's confronted by a mysterious janitor who turns out to be God (Morgan Freeman).
God confronts Bruce with all the complaints he's made, and then he makes a surprising offer. God is going to let Bruce take his job for two weeks. God will go on vacation, and Bruce will be granted all of God's powers. The result is absolutely hilarious. Bruce begins by parting his tomato soup and proclaiming himself Bruce Almighty! He then succeeds in being the only reporter in town to happen upon the biggest story of the year - the uncovering of Jimmy Hoffa's body. Inserting himself into amazing story after amazing story, Bruce quickly gets his old job back and climbs the ranks of the newsroom. After sabotaging co-worker Evan's career, Bruce is even given the anchor position.
But along the way, his relationship with Grace starts falling apart, and the world around him edges closer to anarchy as the powers of God become too much for Bruce to handle. Desperate, Bruce experiences near death and meets with God once again. Acknowledging the difficulty of God's job, Bruce prays for Grace to be happy. God grants his wish, and Bruce is revived - brought to life with a new, fresh perspective to live happily ever after with Grace by his side…
Some of the scenes in this film are beyond description, they're so funny. Bruce Almighty is more than just a comedy, it interacts with the audience by making them imagine themselves in Bruce's shoes. A wonderful and intriguing idea for a story, Jim Carrey brings this film to life and entertains his audience in a way that only God himself could rival…
Britt Gillette
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Posted on 10 December 2004