Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I got a pair of reviews I'm saving from the wrath of God. Check them out! The first review has some semi-spoilerish details and the second is spoiler-free.
Okay, not such a big deal to most geeks, but I saw Evan Almighty this week, and I felt obligated to get a little word out on it, as it has been mostly ignored by everyone this summer. This is not necessarily a shame, as it's no great shakes or anything, but at the same time, there is nothing particularly wrong with it, and it doesn't really deserve the shame and derision it seems destined to get. Plotwise, it does very little to break new ground. Evan (Carell) has nothing in common with the Bruce Almighty character. I think we are meant to believe it is the same guy, but it couldn't matter less. Evan has just been elected to congress, and moves to DC with his family, including Lauren Graham as his hot wife. He's a pleasant enough guy, a lot less fucked up than your average Carell character, and he thinks animals are dirty! (Ironic!) Before long, God as played by Morgan Freeman appears and demands he builds an ark, and hilarity ensues. Evan soon begins to mimic the biblical Noah, from the animals to the white hair and beard, and everyone thinks he's lost his mind. It's exatcly what you expect from the sparse TV commercials. Bottom line, the plot is silly and stupid, with obvious comedy beats throughout. That said, its definately a big improvement on Bruce Almighty, largely due to the fine cast that was somehow assembled. No one in this thing is really stretching themselves, but everyone plays the thing sincerely and with plenty of bonhomie and good humor. Carell deserves stardom, and is a much more likable protagonist than Carrey was. He really anchors the film, and even when the writing is wretched and irritating, it's nigh impossible to fault his performance. Lauren Graham is lovely as his wife, which is about as stock as a character gets, but is somehow more engaging just because she's playing it. In fact, this pretty much applies to everyone in the whole film. As Carell's coworkers, Wanda Sykes, John Michael Higgins, and Knocked Up's Jonah Hill make the absolute most of their nothing roles, each scoring a half dozen solid bits throughout. John Goodman, playing a villainous politician, lends a surprising amount of gravitas to his undercooked role (and also appears to be, if not healthy, at least breathing easier than I've seen him in a while). And Ed Helms delivers some funny in a smaller role late in the film. The cast here is excellent, and it's a shame they weren't allowed to come up with something original on par with their talent. That's about the story on Evan Almighty. Ultimately, its inoffensive pap. The big question for me was how they were going to resolve this story, which hinges upon God killing the entire world population except Evan and his family OR depriving Evan, and the audience, of the cathartic flood. I have to admit, they come up with a solution that is actually earned. The special effects take over, and the transition from Bruce Almighty-esque comedy to Dante's Peak style demolition is jarring. But it doesn't feel as stupid as it could. By the way, this does not look like 200 million dollars, and if the budget was kept reasonable, say 60 mill or so, I could see this turning a nice profit as a family comedy, especially in the more religious areas of the country. I can imagine church groups liking this quite a bit, actually. But as it stands now, it just ain't grand or funny enough to be a tentpole summer film, and I hope it doesn't hurt Carell's career, as it really ain't his fault.
And here's "The Rev" with his opinion. It's a little complicated, a little mixed, but a good, spoiler-free read. Enjoy!
Ok, so here's the scoop. Apparently the folks behind Evan Almighty are trying feverishly to capitalize on the "let's make a movie about God/Jesus" craze and hope that all mainstream Christians will make them richer than their wildest dreams. In this case, it might work. EA is sweet enough, and its treatment of how God works will totally win people over. This won't go down in history as another "Passion of the Christ," but a decent opening and a strong enough word of mouth between families and Christians might get it over the 100 million mark. When I first heard about this, just like everyone else, I thought, "What is Steve Carell doing!? But God can work miracles right? Yes He can, but Steve Oedekerk can't. Pretty much everything in the movie is a steroetype of what you've seen before. Lauren Graham as the unbelieveing wife who comes around, John Goodman as the friend first but eventual blow hard with alterior motives, and Wanda Sykes as the wisecracking assistant. John Michael Higgins and Jonah Hill (really, in this movie?) get a few good lines, but they're not funny, really, just amusing. Morgan Freeman doesn't get enough screen time! Who didn't wet their pants a little when you first heard he was playing God in Bruce Almighty? But he's here just to tidy up the plot lines. Finally, there's SC. He doesn't try too hard, like I feared he might, and he works. I don't know how else to say it. He's more of a cross between Jim Carrey and Tom Hanks-two parts crazy, one part distinguished-and you like him for it. After seeing this movie, you'll know why he was crazy enough to take the role. Mad props should go out to the effects team, who did a much better job than the movie deserved. But to be totally honest, it doesn't work. And here's why it doesn't. The script is lazy. Hey, he's a modern day Noah, so it should just write itself, right? I want this to be a spoiler-free review, but come on! How many times can the dog bite SC in the nuts? Every joke is telegraphed, but the audience I was watching it with didn't seem to care. They only wanted to see the happy ending, which they got, of course. I know I've kind of trashed the flick, but there is one more thing I should mention. Since I saw it, I can't shake the feeling that it made me a ltttle happy. I'm aware of its shortcomings, but there's something about it that I liked. Maybe its just the spirit of it. It wants to be fun and it wants to have a real purpose. You can't deny that charm and you can't help but smile from time to time. No doubt you'll grow more from watching this than all the other summer blockbusters combinecd. Will Evan Almighty drown in the flood of those movies? I have a feeling it will keep its head above water. If you use this, call me The Rev.
