Bruce Almighty (Jim Carrey)

(Amazon UK link)

It was over twelve years since we first saw ‘Bruce Almighty’. Although we remembered the gist of the plot, we had forgotten most of the detail and humour. So we decided it would make a light evening’s viewing…

Jim Carrey stars as Bruce, a TV reporter who is sent to all kinds of strange locations. He is excellent at interviewing, and making stories out of bizarre situations. But what he really wants is to be a news anchor. He has a beautiful and loving girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) but they have been having some arguments… and he feels that everything is going wrong.

One day it seems that life is going from bad to worse, and Bruce complains loudly to God. He doesn’t expect a literal answer, but God turns up, in the form of Morgan Freeman. What’s more, God says that he wants a break, so Bruce can take over, since he is convinced he can do the job better.

It’s a surreal and unusual storyline, but it works extremely well. Jim Carrey’s timing is superb, and, accepting the premise of the plot, he is entirely believable as an ambitious, somewhat selfish young man suddenly endowed with the powers to do just about anything.

There’s a lot of humour in the film, much of it involving Bruce and Grace’s dog and its eventual house-training. And, it has to be said, a fair bit of schadenfreude. But it’s also quite thought-provoking. Bruce discovers that answering everyone’s prayers positively can lead to a great deal of discontent. He learns that the world operates according to laws that shouldn’t be broken. And he realises that the one thing that cannot be commanded is love.

The rating is 12, which seems about right; there’s some profanity, though it’s not extreme. There are some passionate scenes of intimacy, although mostly implied rather than with any overt detail. There’s a lot of discussion of sexuality too, and some quite intense scenes. However as it all involves adults, it’s unlikely to be of any interest to children or younger teenagers. I don’t think I’d show it to anyone aged under about fifteen.

Overall, we enjoyed this film very much. Some people might find it rather blasphemous, but it’s done in such a positive way, and with Bruce realising how difficult it is to be God even in one small town, that I thought it well worth seeing. Certainly it’s different from the average rom-com.

Recommended.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews

Bruce Almighty (starring Jim Carrey)

(Amazon UK link)

I expect that the film 'Bruce Almighty' ended up on our shelves due to a special offer, or perhaps a recommendation, or maybe both. Anyway, we decided to watch it as a family, with some friends who were staying, on Valentine's Day...

It's an interesting idea, different from the usual rom-com style that I tend to choose by default. In this story, Bruce (Jim Carrey) who is a TV reporter has been complaining about his life, and about God, despite being reasonably popular and having some good friends. But it seems as if everything is going on, and he moans just a little too much...

So God appears in human form (played, brilliantly, by Morgan Freeman) and says he'll take a break, and that Bruce can take over as God for a week to see if he can do the job better.

At first disbelieving, Bruce discovers that he does indeed have divine powers, which he can use to do pretty much anything he wishes...

We thought it was well made, and quite thought-provoking too. At first excited, then overwhelmed, then determined to do things efficiently, Bruce implements some of what he feels 'should' happen in the world, only to discover the wider implications... and, unsurprisingly, chaos ensues.

Some of this is a bit silly, but parts of it were amusing and it certainly made its point. On the whole we thought it well worth seeing. The 12 rating (PG-13 in the US) is due to some bad language, some mild sexual content, and some rather crude humour at times.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews