Evan Almighty Review

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"Evan Almighty" reviews

Movie

Evan Almighty

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-08-01 23:10:49

Rating

2/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Forget wrath-of-God stuff. Evan Almighty is pure fluff—moderately entertaining but not nearly the "comedy of Biblical proportions" it purports to be.

Story

Aren't we secretly hoping Steve Carell doesn't make a hit comedy film EVERY time so he'll stay on The Office and won't be lured away by movie fame? Well, Office lovers (like me), take comfort in knowing Evan Almighty is the first big-screen effort from Carell that misses the mark. He reprises his Bruce Almighty role as Evan Baxter, less a blowhard this time around but still just as vain. Having been elected a congressman, the former newscaster moves his family from Buffalo to Washington D.C.—and his mantra is to "change the world." Of course, he doesn't mean this literally, but God (Morgan Freeman) sort of takes him up on the offer, commanding him to build an ark. The why is vague but suffice to say, the request, the ensuing construction constraints, the growing facial hair and the countless animal species who show up on his doorstep two by two all irrevocably change Evan's life.

Acting

Evan Almighty might be too silly, but Stevie boy still provides plenty of well-earned slapsticky laughs. In fact, he gets his ass kicked in more hilarious ways than one, whether it's smashing his thumbs with rudimentary ark tools or having a myriad of birds flock into his office and nest on his head (there must have been poop all OVER that set). Carell really does have such a likable personality and can play this guy in his sleep, but he should consider doing something more akin to what he showed in Little Miss Sunshine next (or just stick with The Office). As the Almighty One, Freeman pretty much does the same thing he did in Bruce Almighty—but why should he change? He's God, for heaven's sakes. All the rest of Evan's players support nicely. Gilmore Girls' Lauren Graham as the befuddled wife is a perfect complement to Carell's wacky Evan, while Wanda Sykes shows up with endless wisecracks as Evan's executive assistant. John Goodman plays the film's heavy as a corrupt congressman. But honestly, the animals almost upstage them all, as they are wont to do. Watching baboons taking a break from building the ark to down some lemonade with Evan is pretty darn funny.

Direction

Director Tom Shadyac, who might just have his own personal relationship with God at this point (or least has a very deep appreciation for animal trainers), has thrown away whatever quirkiness and irreverent fun he provided in Bruce Almighty and replaced it with a more glossy, family-oriented and, er, preachy sensibility in this follow-up. The build up to—and the building of—the ark and its purpose keeps the laughs, albeit chaste, constant. But this isn't a true wrath-of-God scenario, since Morgan Freeman isn't a Deity who is very vengeful; He's more about teaching important lessons about acts of random kindness (A-R-K, get it?) as well as environmental issues. Blah, blah, blah. In other words, Evan Almighty's supposed apocalyptic payoff lacks a certain oomph since a PG comedy can't very well drown the whole world in one fell swoop. Oh well. It's a poorer film for it.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 2 stars.

Movie

Evan Almighty

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-08-03 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

"Evan Almighty" is the spin-off-slash-sequel to "Bruce Almighty". However, there's no Jim Carrey or Jennifer Aniston this time round and instead, the film gives Steve Carell's newscaster character, Evan Baxter, a Biblical adventure of his own. It opens with Evan moving his family (wife Lauren Graham and three sons) to Washington after he's elected to Congress. However, he's quickly embroiled in a land-grab swindle masterminded by a sneaky senior congressman (John Goodman). Then God (Morgan Freeman) appears to Evan and tells him he should build an ark because a flood is coming. Initially, Evan thinks he's cracking up but then pairs of animals keep lining up outside his house, his clothes keep changing into a sack-cloth robe and his beard keeps growing, no matter how fast he shaves it.

Carell does his best, but the film is desperately underwritten and several of the jokes fall horribly flat, particularly a tedious running gag involving Evan's "happy dance". In addition, Evan's family are given almost nothing to do except react (the lovely Lauren Graham deserves SO much better than this) and even the animals don't provide that many gags. In fact, considering the sheer number of animals in "Evan Almighty", it's something of a miracle that there are only four poop gags in the whole thing.

That said, there are a few funny moments, courtesy of a superb supporting cast that includes Wanda Sykes (as Evan's wise-cracking assistant), rising star Jonah Hill (as an advisor with a weird crush on Evan) and Carell's "Office" co-star Ed Helms as a news reporter who dubs Evan "the weirdo with the beardo". Similarly, the film rallies for an impressive effects-based climax that's just about worth waiting for.

Basically, "Evan Almighty" is mildly entertaining throughout, but the funniest thing about it is its tag-line, "Evan help us".

Movie

Evan Almighty

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-07-27 14:40:21

Provider

Review

Evan Almighty hits on one smart idea. With Jim Carrey gone from the Bruce Almighty original, this sequel retains Steve Carell's arrogant newsman and makes him the star. With Carell's own profile soaring on the back of 40-Year-Old Virgin and the American version of The Office, this may have been a no-brainer, but it does give him the opportunity to run through his deadpan wit in a lead role, even one which offers him such negligible opportunity as this one. Since the first instalment Evan Baxter (Carell) has ridden his celebrity kudos to become a US congressmen, pledging to "change the world", bless him.

Baxter instals himself in a massive new home, chopping down the local trees to make himself some eye-catching kitchen units and is set up in a spanking new power office, courtesy of John Goodman's all-powerful Congressman Long. In return he's expected to support Long's bill, which will open up public parks to private developments. But Baxter starts getting messages from God, and when he proves deaf to the Lord's hints he even pops up (in the form of Morgan Freeman, as in the original) with a copy of Ark Building For Dummies, telling him to get cracking before he and his vandalising ilk destroy the environment for good.

At this point, sadly, Even Almighty descends into the joyless piety which marred Bruce Almighty. A flat script never even scratches the surface of Carell's talent, Freeman is reduced to spouting platitudes (even God can't get a decent writer in modern Hollywood) and the film fizzles out in a blizzard of telegrammed gags and plot developments.

If God truly moves in mysterious ways, He has clearly washed his hands of this lousy movie.