Bruce Almighty is one of the better examples of Jim Carrey at play and what he can be done with a good project and a director that is familiar with the actor.
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Jim Carrey and Tom Shadyac have had quite a career together. The two have worked together on Carrey´s first big hit, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective." They have followed up that collaboration with the comical "Liar Liar" and make their third film as a dynamic duo in the heavenly hilarious "Bruce Almighty." Carrey excels when a role requires a certain amount of physical comedy and general goofiness. Shadyac brings these qualities out of the funnyman and it is hard to think of another film starring Jim Carrey that has been more entertaining when somebody else is at the helm. "Bruce Almighty" spawned a sequel starring one of the supporting actors from this film, Steve Carell. Jennifer Aniston co-stars and Morgan Freeman portrays God.
Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a beat reporter for a Buffalo news station. He is known for his lighthearted humor and comical antics. A typical story that Nolan is sent to cover is the world record for the largest cookie. Nolan is hopeful to take over for a retiring anchor and become a co-anchor with the station, but he must compete with an arrogant and talented reporter, Evan Baxter (Steve Carell). When Baxter earns the job as co-anchor and Bruce is sent to cover an anniversary for a tour boat at Niagara Falls, his life begins to unravel. His relationship with the lovely and caring Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston) strains as well, as Bruce makes a complete fool of himself on television and is fired from his job at Channel 7. With complete frustration, Bruce forsakes and curses God.
God (Morgan Freeman) had an open ear and pages Bruce and requests a meeting with him. Bruce is unsure of where he is going and who he is meeting with, but first comes across God and believes him to be a simple janitor. Finally, God reveals himself to Bruce and the ousted reporter completely disbelieves the man´s story that he is the almighty being. However, God wants to teach Bruce a lesson and leaves him with all of God´s heavenly power. With Bruce in charge of all the divine duties, God takes a vacation and Bruce slowly realizes the power he now has access to and that he had actually met God and God had put him in charge for a short while. Bruce looks to exploit his powers and patch up his relationship with Grace, thwart Evan´s new post on the anchor desk and earn the job he had pined for.
"Bruce Almighty" is a good time and a load of fun. Carrey is a bit more reserved in his physical antics and rubbery facial expressions than he was in either "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" or "Liar Liar." The role is one that certainly fits Carrey´s humor and style, and with Carrey not talking between his ass cheeks or shouting odd things at the tops of his lungs, his performance is a lot easier to swallow for the general masses. I know a few people that could not stomach early Jim Carrey, but found "Bruce Almighty" and Jim Carrey to be quite entertaining. Carrey is still full of energy in his film and his ability to improvise on the set is apparent. Jim Carrey is one of Hollywood´s great physical comedians, but he seldom uses his talents post-Ventura. Thankfully, this is a film that reminds us why Jim Carrey gets paid the big bucks.
The supporting cast is quite good as well. Steve Carell was a relative unknown when he appeared as Evan Baxter. He had done three years of work, but had not had a starring role, or a major supporting position. Carell runs with the role of Evan Baxter and now that he is one of the current hot comedians, Carell has reprised his role in "Evan Almighty" as a modern-day Noah. Jennifer Aniston gets to play the tortured, worried and frustrated girlfriend. She relishes in frustration and pouty lips. She is also a lovely lady and her presence is welcome whenever she graces the screen. Then, there is Morgan Freeman. It is hard to believe that Morgan Freeman could not succeed in any role. Here, he is given the opportunity to play God and that has to be a relatively hard role to tackle. George Burns did it. Alanis Morissette did it. Morgran Freeman shows them how it is done. The man is simply an amazing actor.
The story is not the tightest written tale you will ever sit down and watch. Shadyac has proved again and again that he knows how to harness the great funnyman and regardless of the shortcomings with the script, Shadyac and Carrey run with it. The reasons to sit down and enjoy "Bruce Almighty" is not to experience a riveting drama or important documentary; you sit down and watch "Bruce Almighty" to laugh heartedly and forget about daily troubles and routines. The film is funny. At times, it is very funny. This is about as close as you can get in the new millennium to seeing ´vintage´ Jim Carrey and you should embrace the opportunity when you can. This is one of the better films featuring Carrey in the past five years or so. It is funny and has great comedic performances.
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[release]20844[/release]