Personally, Bruce Almighty is my favorite Jim Carrey movie ever. Its never outlandish in its approach, and at times, its quite serious and adult. In fact, for a comedy, it presents some surprisingly deep philosophical questions concerning the actions of a just God and our place in the universe. Inevitably, it sparks internal and external debate among viewers in regard to what we would personally do if we held the power of God in the palm of our hand In Bruce Almighty, Carrey plays the role of Bruce Nolan, a local television reporter always assigned to cover less than thrilling events in and around his hometown. Dreaming of the network anchor chair, he works tirelessly to rid himself of the funny guy image. He lives with girlfriend Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston), but the two get into a major argument when Bruce, who loses his bid for anchorman to the underhanded Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), flies off the handle and loses his job. Discontent with his failure, and constantly blaming God, Bruce directs his anger at those around him. But in the interim, he receives numerous calls from an unknown phone number. When he finally calls the number, hes offered an interview for the job of his life. Curious, Bruce attends the interview in a bleach-white building where hes confronted by a mysterious janitor who claims to be God (Morgan Freeman). God confronts Bruce with all the complaints hes made, and then makes a surprising offer. God will let Bruce take his job for two weeks. God will go on vacation, and Bruce will be granted all the powers of the Almighty The result is an hour and a half of utter hilarity. Bruce begins by parting his tomato soup and proclaiming himself Bruce Almighty. He then uncovers the biggest story of the year when he happens upon the recovery of Jimmy Hoffas body. Inserting himself in the backdrop of an endless string of amazing news stories, Bruce gets his old job back and watches his personal stock soar. Sabotaging Evans career, Bruce is given the anchor chair he so covets. But along the way, his relationship with Grace falls apart, the world around him edges closer to anarchy, and the powers of God become too much for Bruce to handle. Unable to cope with the looming disaster of his actions, Bruce encounters God once again, but this time his life perspective is far different than before Some of the scenes in this film are beyond description, theyre so funny. In one such scene, Bruce (now having the power of God) faces down a gang which had previously beat him senseless. What he does to their leader will make every viewer cringe. More than just a comedy, Bruce Almighty forces the audience to imagine themselves in a similar situation. A wonderful and intriguing idea for a story, Jim Carrey brings the film to life and entertains audiences with a comedic omnipotence of which God himself can be proud |
