Post to del.icio.us But, when they announced that a sequel to the widely successful Bruce Almighty with Steve Carell, it looked like they might have a chance of breaking the curse.
Carell, you ll recall, had a scene-stealing turn as Evan Baxter, Carrey s obnoxious rival at a Buffalo television news station. However, Evan Almighty never quite pans out due to the direction the film decided to go with a family-oriented, eco-friendly message that s all well and good, but severely limits the talents of its star. When we catch up with Evan, he has become a newly elected congressman and is moving to Virginia with his wife, Joan (Lauren Graham) and their three sons (Johnny Simmons, Graham Phillips and Jimmy Bennett).
Evan won his seat in Congress with his campaign slogan of Change the World ...
So, when he offers up an awkward prayer to help him do that, he receives an answer, in the form of wood and building supplies, with which God (Morgan Freeman) tells him to build an ark for the flood that is coming. Evan, naturally, doesn t listen and tries to go about his business, despite various signs including being followed around by two of every animal and longer hair and a beard, which he can t shave off or cut. God also provides him with a long, flowing robe to make him look like Noah, much to Joan s chagrin.
At work, Evan is given the chance to co-sponsor a major bill with one of the House s bigwigs, Congressman Long (John Goodman). But he later finds out the bill, thanks to some corner-cutting, would wipe out large forests to clear out room for more developments. Evan finally relents and agrees to build the ark, with the help of his sons.
So, how do you go about building an ark? Why, with a book titled Ark-Building for Dummies of course, along with some equipment that the Lord provides, along with help from the animals. Ask, and ye shall receive, right?
Despite a large gathering of gawkers, including Evan s staff, Rita (Wanda Sykes), Marty (John Michael Higgins) and Eugene (Jonah Hill) and the threat of having the ark torn down for building code violations, Evan goes about his task, waiting for the flood. The ark itself, is quite impressive looking, even though it is computer-generated in some spots. When the flood arrives, it is pretty spectacular as well.
You can see why the movie s budget ran to a reported $175 million. A lot of money has to go into effects this good. But it s on the acting side where the movie struggles.
Steve Carell is one of the funniest actors working today. But it s obvious early on that this is the kind of movie the producers wanted kids to see. So you have to keep the laughs simple, and it cuts into what Carell can do.
There s only so many times he can whack his thumb with a hammer or fall of a giant pile of wood before it s not funny anymore. Yes, watching the animals help with the ark provides a couple of chuckles, but that s all it s worth. Had the movie been PG-13, it would have given the producers more room to work, but they chose not to go that way.
That s their prerogative, but it s a choice that s going to leave a lot of Carell fans disappointed. Freeman, as God again, doesn t have to do much. He just shows up and offers words of wisdom with his deep, soulful voice.
An easy gig, and he pulls it off with what looks like no effort. Lauren Graham looks worried where appropriate and finally supportive when she decides to be. John Goodman isn t really an evil guy here.
He s just a congressman who cut corners on a project that would benefit him. That describes 99 percent of our officials in Washington. It will appeal to kids, PETA members and Greenpeace, but probably not too many others.
And Hollywood producers should take note If they ever want to make a sequel to The Truman Show , make sure Jim Carrey s on board. Two stars out of five Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums. More from the Entertainment section No rats here Ratatouille is a winner Evan s not-so-mighty, but still quite charming Jackie Cook has 11th book published Post to del.
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