REVIEW: Evan Almighty

In EVAN ALMIGHTY, a spin-off of 2003’s BRUCE ALMIGHTY, Steve Carrel plays Evan Baxter, a former Buffalo newscaster who has just become a newly appointed congressman. After moving his family to the D.C. suburbs, and getting settled into his new lifestyle complete with the family Hummer, a monstrous home, and a stray dog that likes to bite him in the privates, Evan gets a special visitation from God, played once again by Morgan Freeman. God tells Evan that a flood is coming, and that he must build an ark in order to save his family. Evan dismisses what God is saying until all different types of animals, in pairs, start following him around the D.C. area, from lions to lamas, and toucans to tarantulas. Birds fly into his capital hill office, sheep show up in the back seat of his car, and people in Washington are beginning to take notice. He even starts growing an unstoppable beard, and finds the ancient robe that keeps showing up in his closest quite comfortable. Evan eventually decides to build the ark with the help of his family, and in the end God will use Evan to save them from a man-made disaster, as well as national parks from being taken over by a greedy politician (John Goodman) who wishes only to suburbanize them.

Steve Carell (40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) plays an everyman Evan Baxter but never really feels completely secure in his role. His physical comedy is humorous, but at times feels forced. Carell’s strength here lies more in his restrained side which is stronger when he shares the screen with Morgan Freeman, who shines with a particular grace as the ACTUAL ALMIGHTY. Each scene between God and Baxter is done with a special sweetness and charm. You can almost sense Director Tom Shadyac’s admiration for the subject matter through the way in which he instructs Freeman to recite his lines. Lauren Graham as Joan, the wife of Evan, is both forgettable and flat, and is given no other objective than to whine and complain about Evan’s Other comic actors such as Wanda Sykes, playing Evan Baxter’s assistant, have some great bits of comedy, but are there purely to make us laugh, instead of making us laugh while moving the story along.

This movie is in essence flawed on many levels. Where is the real tension, or drama in this story? In BRUCE ALMIGHTY, Bruce (Jim Carrey) has to contend with his selfishness, his pride, and the fact that he fails at being God. In EVAN ALMIGHTY, Evan has to contend with non-stop shaving fits, building a boat, and people at work laughing at him. How is it that everyone could possibly dismiss Baxter as being crazy about his Ark ranting when exotic animals (lions, ostriches, etc) are following him around town, and when he doesn’t even bother to actually show people that his beard is instantaneously growing back? What are these EXOTIC animals really in danger from in the first palce? Why would God bring them to Washington D.C. in the first place when the flood only threatened a small area in the first place? Also, in the flood, which is not by the way, a “global” flood, wouldn’t people be drowned? The film makes not mention of the flood affecting anyone else but the main characters who are riding down it like an inner tube on the ark, though it forces its way down the streets and waterways of Washington D.C. One a theological level, how is Evan’s faith really tested when God keeps making himself known to Evan in blatantly obvious ways. Loads of building materials arrive from a mysterious company 1-800-GO-4-WOOD, acres of land suddenly become available across the street from Evan’s house, and did I already mention the hoards of animals that keep showing up at Evan’s front door. In the films final moments God tells Evan that the purpose of ARK was to spread Acts of Random Kindness which have the power to change the world. I give the film kudos for explaining how loving God is, but the filmmakers tend to skirt around the fact that God is also wrathful, jealous, and vengeful. I also understand that their intentions were to make a family-friendly movie that anyone could enjoy, and I think to some degree they achieved that. EVAN ALMIGHTY is void of the sex, violence, and language that tend to comedy films these days. It is always refreshing to see a comedy that is willing to just have a great time, yet not fall into the abyss of fart jokes, and sex humor, it is the formula that made NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM nearly $573 million at the worldwide box-office this past year, and for that, I give Shadyac major accolades.

In the end, EVAN ALMIGHTY is an over the top, ridiculous, nonsensical comedy that has instances of sweetness and sprinkles of theological truth rapped up in a warm-hearted family comedy filled to the brim with good intentions. Unfortunately, good intentions don’t always make the best movies.

GRADE: C

RECOMMENDATION: For those that don’t mind some cheap laughs, a flawed story, and some absurdities amongst some truly good-intentions.