Evan Almighty

As is usually the case with a movie I’ve seen only once, I’m a little vague on the details about Bruce Almighty, the predecessor to this movie. As I recall, Jim Carrey wished he was God, and God took him up on the offer. God took a vacation, and left Carrey in charge. Chaos ensued. What I remember clearly, though, is that the movie was fun. Fun from beginning to end. Evan Almighty is fun, too … for about half its length. The animals assembling two by two: that was fun. Evan’s beard and hair growing: that was fun. Then it got ridiculous. Bruce could get away with a lot of stuff because … well, because he was God. People didn’t notice his miracles. Evan is just Noah, and when miracles happen around him people behave stupidly. I mean, would you calmly watch a pair of bears standing beside a pair of horses? When thousands of animals appeared miraculously in the Senate chambers, would you be pissed off that Evan has caused it, or awed and amazed? When even more animals gathered in a big field and started filing aboard this huge ship Evan had built, would you ridicule him? Me, I’d beat feet toward the ramp, because I’d have a sneaking suspicion that some serious water might be coming. I hate it when people behave stupidly or illogically. This movie could have been much more effective if, for instance, Evan had shared what was really happening with his wife and family, as Kevin Costner did in Field of Dreams. Evan’s increasingly silly attempts to cover up what’s happening to him and his refusal to simply speak up got very tiring. Then it all collapsed into a giant SFX flood that would have killed thousands and thousands of DC residents (not a bad thing, if they were all elected), and nothing at all is made of that. Final verdict: Stupid, a waste of your money. And get prepared for Leroy Almighty, where Chris Rock plays Moses.