Bruce Almighty is a 2003 fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. It stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck TV reporter who complains to God that He isn't doing His job correctly, and is then offered the chance to try being God himself for one week. Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Catherine Bell, Lisa Ann Walter, and Philip Baker Hall also star, while Tony Bennett makes a cameo appearance.
This is Shadyac and Carrey's third collaboration after working together in Shadyac's first film, Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, which also launched Carrey's career. Six years earlier, Shadyac and Carrey worked together to make the successful Liar Liar.
The film was a box office success despite mixed reviews from critics. When released in American theaters in May 2003, it took the #1 spot at the box office, grossing $85.89 million, higher than the release of Pearl Harbor, making it the highest-rated Memorial Day weekend opening of any film in motion picture history until the release of X-Men: The Last Stand over Memorial Day 2006.[3] The movie surprised media analysts when it beat The Matrix Reloaded after its first week of release. By the time it left theaters, it took in a United States domestic total of over $242 million and $484 million worldwide, breaking records as the 17th highest-grossing live action comedy of all time.[2]
Plot
Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a television field reporter for Eyewitness News on WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York, who, through his continuous coverage of media interest stories, rather than hard news, is unsuccessful at getting a job as an anchorman. He is in love with his girlfriend Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston), but is also very attracted to his gorgeous co-worker Susan Ortega (Catherine Bell), who doesn't even notice him. When anticipating a promotion to a vacant anchor position, and while on the air, Bruce becomes furious when he hears that rival co-worker Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) gets promoted and he gets fired. After Bruce gets fired from his job, he complains to God (Morgan Freeman) that He isn't doing His job correctly. God then contacts Bruce via Bruce's pager and meets him at an old building.
Bruce at first does not believe God is who he says he is, since God is dressed up as a janitor, and tests it by playing the "How many fingers am I holding up" game. Behind his back, he holds up seven fingers, putting two down before God says "Seven". Pulling out his hand, Bruce panics upon seeing that the hand now has seven fingers. This convinces him. God states that He is tired of how Bruce always complains about Him and grants Bruce all of His powers so as to prove that He is doing His job correctly. The only limitations are that Bruce cannot tell people he is God, and he cannot interfere with free will. Bruce uses his new-found omnipotent powers for personal gain — he gets revenge on a street gang that assaulted him earlier by making a monkey come out of the leader's crotch, turns his beat-up Nissan 240Z into a Saleen S7 sports car, and gets his job back by uncovering the corpse of Jimmy Hoffa and makes his girlfriend's breasts bigger. However, he is routinely bothered by a cacophony of voices which only he can hear.
Bruce uses God's powers to gain the reputation "Mr. Exclusive" by causing exciting news, such as a meteor impact, to occur whenever he is reporting. He also forces Evan to humiliate himself on air by manipulating the teleprompter to make him speak gibberish, and Evan is removed as anchor in favor of Bruce. Bruce takes Grace to dinner to tell her this, and Grace is disappointed as she was expecting him to propose. As Bruce is once again overwhelmed by voices, God appears to him and tells Bruce the voices are prayers, and will continue to build up if not answered. He also confronts Bruce on using his powers for personal gain and not helping people. Reading the prayers in the form of e-mails, Bruce attempts to answer them individually, but when he discovers he is receiving prayers faster than he can respond, Bruce decides to set his e-mail account to automatically answer "yes" to all prayers, assuming this will make everyone happy.
At a party to celebrate his promotion, Bruce attempts to call Grace to get her to come but she doesn't pick up. However, when Grace arrives, Bruce is then seduced by Susan who passionately kisses him. Grace witnesses this and leaves him. Bruce tries to use his powers to win her back but can't, as he isn't allowed to interfere with free will. Bruce finds that his abuse of his powers have consequences: some people take the meteor impact and other phenomena as signs of the apocalypse while others are outraged over thousands winning the lottery (resulting in each person only winning around $17) and a riot breaks out in the city. Brought before God again, Bruce protests that he only gave people what they wanted, and God tells Bruce that people need to stop looking to him for answers. Bruce begins to solve the problems in his life practically, and helps people personally, such as a homeless man who has appeared to him at times holding philosophical signs. That evening, Bruce decides to look at the prayers Grace has sent and discovers she continually prayed for his success and well-being. As a new prayer begins to arrive, Bruce goes to witness Grace praying in person, and hears her wishing to not be in love with him any more so she will stop hurting.
Depressed, Bruce walks on to a highway and submits to God, asking Him to take back His powers and trusting Him with his fate. Bruce is suddenly struck by a truck and is brought before God in a white void. God asks Bruce what he really wants, and assuming he is dead, Bruce asks that Grace find a man who may make her truly happy and see her through God's eyes, even if it is not Bruce. God agrees and revives Bruce, who wakes up in the hospital to be told "someone up there" favors him. Bruce and Grace reconcile and become engaged, and Bruce gives Evan the anchor position back, going back to his old unglamorous stories and taking a new delight in them. The film ends with a slow close-up of the homeless man, whose image morphs slightly and he is revealed to be God.
Cast
Reception and controversy
The film received mixed reviews with a score of 49% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 181 reviews[4] and a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 on Metacritic.[5] It received a B rating at Box Office Mojo and a score of 6.6 on Internet Movie Database. The film took nearly $243 million at the box office, making it Carrey's most successful film since 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas (also released by Universal).
Original screenwriters Mark O'Keefe and Steve Koren wrote Bruce Almighty as an original spec script and put it on the open market. Universal Studios immediately bought the original script. As with many blockbuster films, several sources came forward seeking post-success credit.[citation needed]
Robert Bausch, the author of Almighty Me, contends that his book was the creative source for this film.[6]
Controversy
The film was banned in Egypt and Malaysia due to pressure from Islamic religious circuits who objected to the portrayal of God as a visually ordinary man. The ban in Malaysia was eventually lifted after the Censorship Board gave it the "18PL" rating (suitable for adult viewers only for a combination of two or more of the given parental ratings).[7][8][9] Also, since God contacts Bruce using an actual phone number rather than a number in the standard fictional 555 telephone exchange, several people and groups sharing this number subsequently received hundreds of phone calls from people wanting to talk to God. The producers note that the number chosen was not in use in the area code (716, which was never specified on screen) the film is set in, but did not check anywhere else. The home video and television versions changed it to the fictional 555.[10]
Sequel
On June 22, 2007, a sequel to Bruce Almighty entitled Evan Almighty was released, with Steve Carell reprising to his role as Evan Baxter and Morgan Freeman returning to his role as God. Although Shadyac returned to direct the sequel, neither Carrey nor Aniston were involved with the film, though Carrey's character, Bruce, is mentioned in the film's teaser trailer. The sequel was not as well received as the predecessor, being given a 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 37/100 on MetaCritic.
The 2008 Hindi film God Tussi Great Ho is an adaptation of Bruce Almighty and almost every aspect of the original is used. The film stars Salman Khan as the protagonist and Amitabh Bachchan as God.
The 2009 Malayalam film Angel John was also an adaptation of Bruce Almighty. The film stars Mohanlal as the God and Shanthnoo Bhagyaraj as the protagonist.
Another Tamil film, Arai En 305-il Kadavul, which stars Santhanam as the protagonist and Prakash Raj as God, incorporates several story elements from Bruce Almighty. One exception is that, in the Tamil film, the protagonist steals God's powers rather than being gifted with them.
On January 12, 2012 - a true sequel to Bruce Almighty was announced starring Jim Carrey.[11]
Soundtrack
| Professional ratings |
| Review scores |
| Source |
Rating |
| Allmusic |
  [12] |
The soundtrack was released on June 3, 2003 by Varèse Sarabande. Tracks 9-14 are from the score composed by John Debney, performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony (conducted by Pete Anthony) with Brad Dechter and Sandy De Crescent.
- Tracklist
- "One of Us" - Joan Osborne
- "God-Shaped-Hole" - Plumb
- "You're a God" - Vertical Horizon
- "The Power" - Snap!
- "A Little Less Conversation" - Elvis vs. JXL
- "The Rockafeller Skank" - Fatboy Slim
- "God Gave Me Everything" - Mick Jagger featuring Lenny Kravitz
- "AB Positive"
- "Walking on Water"
- "Vertical 69"
- "Bruce Meets God"
- "Bruce's Prayer"
- "Grace's Prayer"
- "God's Prayer"
- "Seventh at Seven
References
3.http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jan/10/jim-carrey-bruce-almighty-sequel?newsfeed=true
External links
