Well, if last Friday was a Stephen King kind of day, then yesterday was a Steve Carell kind of day. Early on I bought season 3 of The Office on DVD from Circuit City (which was a big headache. The few bucks I saved getting it there was not worth the hassle I went through in trying to buy it there) Then I checked out Evan Almighty at the budget theater; the only film this summer which truly had the label flopped attached to it.
On one hand, I can understand why it did not do well as it just wasn't very good, but on the other hand, the film seemed to try to have broad appeal which should have made it successful. I mean if Wild Hogs can make $168 million in the U.S., then this should have easily made $200 mil.
I'd relate the plot to you, but let me save myself some effort here and just have you watch the trailer. It gives you everything. There was nothing in the film that I hadn't already figured out based on the trailer.
In addition to the lack of surprises, the film uses the old sledgehammer of plot to dictate the story right from the get-go (Evan puts work in front of family, Evan hates animals, Evan drives a Hummer, etc.) As the film rolls along, the cliches, just like the animals boarding the ark, come 2x2. I could not believe they actually used the tired "I'm taking the kids with me to stay at my mother's" to indicate the height of the marital strife between Evan and his wife. I will say that the film does succeed in getting you to pray...unfortunately it's to pray that the film will produce something creative or different before reaching its obvious climax.
The only thing divine with the film is the casting. Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Wanda Sykes, John Michael Higgins, John Goodman, and Jonah Hill each have a couple of lines that are chuckle-worthy. It's too bad that these talented folks aren't given better material to work with. They all deserve better than what they had here. And it's probably the pedigree of the cast that makes this film so disappointing.
With no name actors, this would have made for a decent made-for-TV movie. But when you have such talented comics involved on a film that is linked to a previously popular comedy, the end result here comes off looking real bad. We were looking for something divine and got something mortal instead.
I didn't hate this movie, but I won't recommend it to anyone either. The film is so obvious and formulaic that you've probably already seen it, it just went by a different title. If you're looking for a laugh and enjoy Steve Carell, do yourself a favor and just watch The Office instead. I know that's what I'm going to do. Grade: C
1 comment:
I'm sorry to hear that about the movie, but it didn't make much sense to me to do any kind of follow-up to Bruce Almighty. I thought it would work better as a man who thinks he hears God telling him to do these things. Go figure.
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