Reviews (2)

How Will It Compare to Perfection?
"Shall We Dance?" (2004) is a remake of the superb Japanese musical dance comedy which was released in the U.S. in 1997. This new version stars Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci. There's not a chance in the universe that this new version will be better than the Japanese classic, which was just about as perfect as any film has ever been, ever. But I'll definitely go to see the new one, only because it probably will be very enjoyable to compare the two versions, and any dance film is better than none. Plus I think I'll really enjoy the new one--it's just that I KNOW it could never approach the Japanese original, for many reasons. Sure, they'll try to adapt the screenplay to American customs and vernaculars, but many charming nuances of the original will be lost because it will not take place in Japan, and the original was really about how the Japanese are relating to something very Western and alien, ballroom dance. If you want, you can go to Hollywood.com and watch the preview to the new version. Just type in Shall We Dance? in the Search field. The preview is pretty good. I will enjoy the film, but I strongly urge you to buy a copy of the original "Shall We Dance?" here on Amazon, and also go to the "Shall We Dance?"(Japan) Amazon DVD page and vote to have it released on DVD. It's a crime this hasn't happened yet! (I gave this American version 4 stars, because I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt, also based on the preview I saw).

Potentially A Great Movie!!
This is a potentially a great movie about a bored Chicagolawyer(Richard Gere)who takes ballroom dancing lessons with his instructor (Jennifer Lopez), whose wife (Susan Sarandon)suspects him cheating on her.This movie's plot is similar to the superb original Japanese version made a few years ago.It should be very well watching,when it's released!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you were a kid in the early 1960s, then you saw The Parent Trap with Hayley Mills--it's as simple as that. Now Disney has pulled the beloved comedy--about a pair of twins who meet for the first time at summer camp and vow to reunite their long-divorced parents--out of the mothballs and remade it with a decidedly '90s feel. This time, the twins act is performed by newcomer Lindsay Lohan, who plays both Hallie and Annie, who each live with one of their parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson). Adversaries when they first meet at camp, Hallie and Annie become, well, sisters when they figure out that they are siblings. The comedy springs from their efforts to sabotage Dad's impending marriage to the gold-digging Elaine Hendrix, while reintroducing Dad to Mom. Quaid has a nice, loosey-goosey way with slapstick, as does Richardson, who plays a very funny drunk scene. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (291)

subtle and hilarious
The parent trap is a great movie for several reasons : just like the original movie the main caracter is played excellently by Lindsay Lohan. The other actors are of equally high standard, specially Elaine Hendrix as the bride to be and Lisa Ann Walters as the "butler" of the father. Lisa Ann Walters outclasses her predecessor in the 1961 movie. Director Nancy Meyers has a keen eye for detail which shows in scenes with some great nonverbal communication, for instance the conversation in the garden between Elaine Hendrix and Lindsay Lohan. Dennis Quaid is very convincing as a father with his legendary broad smile. Another aspect is the way some "adult" items like divorce and seperation are dealt with and yet arevery acceptable for kids. Very moving moments, like the moment Annie reveals her true identity to Chessie (Walters) are pared with hilarious reactions where Chessie shows her affection by offering in the midst of tears to cook something special, while at the same time not degrading the emotional content of that moment. The same goes for Hallie in London. The music is very functional and thanks to DVD a treat to listen to. Visuals are wonderful too. Elaime Hendrix has had the opportunity to play a much more sophisticated opponent making the movie more fun to watch. All in all a must see family novie !

Terrific Family Film
The parent trap is a great movie for several reasons; just like the original movie the main caracter is played excellently by Lindsay Lohan. The other actors are of equally high standard, specially Elaine Hendrix as the bride to be and Lisa Ann Walters as the "butler" of the father. Lisa Ann Walters outclasses her predecessor in the 1961 movie. Director Nancy Meyers has a keen eye for detail which shows in scenes with some great nonverbal communication, for instance the conversation in the garden between Elaine Hendrix and Lindsay Lohan. Dennis Quaid is very convincing as a father with his legendary broad smile and Natascha Richardson is great as the british mother. Another aspect is the way some "adult" items like divorce and seperation are dealt with and yet arevery acceptable for kids. Very moving moments, like the moment Annie reveals her true identity to Chessie (Walters) are pared with hilarious reactions where Chessie shows her affection by offering in the midst of tears to cook something special, while at the same time not degrading the emotional content of that moment. The same goes for Hallie in London. The music is very functional and thanks to VHS a treat to listen to. Visuals are wonderful too. Elaime Hendrix has had the opportunity to play a much more sophisticated opponent making the movie more fun to watch. All in all a must see family movie, perfect for anybody.

Better than Holes!
I used to have this movie on video tape, but I decided to donate it to Salvation Army and get it on DVD, because I like DVDs better. I had the movie Holes on DVD, too. I bought the movie Holes on DVD when they first released. I really like Holes, too. The differences between Holes and The Parent Trap are good girls vs. bad boys. Holes talks about a camp that's for bad boys and The Parent Trap talks about the camp for good girls. That's why I like girls better than boys, that's why I like The Parent Trap better.

Lindsay Lohan is great!
The movie isn't so much but Lindsay Lohan is great on her double part.
She is a beautiful girl with lots of talent.

Great Movie, Botched DVD.
I absolutely love this movie. I've been waiting for this re-release to come out for a long time and am very disappointed to find it is not an anamorphic widescreen release. It actually says on the back of the packaging, "Enhanced for 16X9 televisions". This is blatantly false. I have to wonder why Disney took the trouble to re-release this but couldn't be bothered to do it right. However, the picture quality was excellent for a non-anamorphic DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (311)

fun -- perfect vehicle for Carrey
Bruce (Jim Carrey) is the beloved human interest reporter at a local television station in Buffalo and he lives with Grace (Jennifer Aniston), but he is not content. He wants to be news anchor and command respect. After repeatedly blaming God for his problems, the Almighty (Morgan Freeman) gives Bruce his powers for a couple of weeks. This is a great premise and Carrey is a hoot as the self-absorbed Bruce. The film deals with Bruce's use of these magnificent powers and his coming to realize that he is indeed already a lucky man.

The entire cast, particularly The Daily Show's Steve Carrell, is very good, and the script is quite funny.

DVD extras are quite good: a commentary track with director Tom Shadyac; a 6-minute featurette on Carrey's comedy style; 6-1/2 minutes of outtakes; 30 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary; cast & crew info; a trailer; and a Chase MasterCard commercial (yikes!). The film can be heard or subtitled in English or French.

Lots of fun, and generally suitable for the whole family -- your kids will love the scenes of the dog's conversion from chronic house-pee-er to toilet-using mutt!

What Would YOU Do If You Were THE ALMIGHTY ?
Your reaction to this movie will depend on your expectations, it is neither ACE VENTURA nor THE MAJESTIC. The movie OH GOD had John Denver as the earnest nonbeliever and straightman for the comic George Burns as a playful God. BRUCE ALMIGHTY reverses the typecasting; it has the wild and wacky Jim Carrey as the playful and irreverent reporter Bruce Nolan who is suddenly given the powers of The Almighty, played with wonderfully understated grace and perserverance by Morgan Freeman. The story is simplicity itself, Jim Carrey is a TV reporter with a real talent for doing human interest stories with a humorous twist, but who feels underappreciated and yearns for a spot on his Buffalo NY station's anchor desk. His longtime girlfriend Grace Connelly (played by Jennifer Aniston) also feels somewhat taken for granted, since Bruce seems to be more concerned about his career than their relationship. The stresses in Bruce's life suddenly converge when he is fired from his job after a disastrous (and hilarious) live interview conducted on THE MAID OF THE MIST while under Niagara Falls. Never particularly religious despite his girlfriend's entreaties to seek comfort from prayer, in a defiant gesture Bruce totally rejects all belief in the possibility of any help from God. Supposedly summoned by pager to a job interview, in a wonderful encounter with incredible symbolism (an all white environment with a black God) Morgan Freeman endows Bruce with the powers of THE ALMIGHTY and challenges him to do a better job while obeying only two seemingly simple rules. Then the fun, adventure and suddenly changed trajectory of Bruce's life begins.

If you want to see Jim Carrey at his comic best, you will love this movie. Imagine what he can do and the havoc that he can create as THE ALL POWERFUL with almost no limitations on his abilities. (The trailers accurately relect this aspect of the film.) Where the movie disappoints in my opinion was its use of comedy to explore the issues which it raises about religion and its role in our lives, personal relationships, pursuit of happiness, and feelings of accomplishment. As you can imagine, Bruce at first refuses to believe that he has been endowed with extraordinary powers, then initially uses them for mundane personal purposes in several really funny incidents. After a few additional visits and consultations with Morgan Freeman, Bruce gradually comes to accept the fact that being almighty is more complicated and involves more responsibility than simply creating personal gratification. The next lesson also involves the fact that there are often unintended consequences which stem from good (as well as bad) intentions; one person's good fortune may cause problems for someone else. Despite the serious undertone, the comedic aspects of the incidents inevitably dominate the storyline.

While comedy can be a wonderful way to enlighten as well as entertain, in many instances this film instead opts for complete farce. This aspect combines with the fact that many of the miracles are more like cheap magic tricks rather than almighty acts to lessen the potential of the film to be truly thoughtprovoking. (It also means that regardless of which faith you espouse, if you have strongly fundamentalist religious beliefs you may be offended by some aspects of this movie.) There were some great issues raised, but always implicitly with the exception of the role of free will; it appears that the filmmakers kept their story very bland to reamin as inoffensive as possible; but that seems at odds with a story about a man and his encounter with THE ALMIGHTY.

This was an interesting movie that I want to see again to test my first reaction. I enjoyed the humor immensely; I watched it in a crowded theater and the entire audience laughed hysterically at times. Morgan Freeman was superb in a limited although central role, and Jennifer Aniston was perfect as the frustrated girlfriend. The dog was a lovable character as well. TWO IMPORTANT NOTES: first, don't leave when the credits start rolling, there are some subsequent great outtakes; second, pay particular attention to the signs held up periodically by Jack Jozefson (the homeless man) - they are not only wonderfully apropos but one of the methods by which the message of the story is subtly, if only silently, conveyed. So while I highly recommend this film, my four star rating relects the fact that the attempts to play for comedy and blandness kept it far from what could have been its six star potential.

Not funny
Bruce Almighty is supposed to be funny, but Carrey doesnt delivers. Carrey's juvenile humor has gotten old, and this movie is no exception. The movie is better for its humanity, than for its comedy.

Garbage
I was dragged to this movie and was ready to leave before it was over. I could have cried when I couldn't get my money back. Jim Carey is one of my favorite comedic actors, but this was definitely not his best.

The Story Takes on a Novel Approach to God
ACTING: As usual, Jim Carrey does an outstanding performance. Of course, his acting is quite similar in everything that he does. Jennifer Aniston, however, does terribly. It's hard to take her role seriously at all. Since I never watched "Friends," I did not realize that she lacked any talent whatsoever.

In any case, the story was very clever. The notion that one wants to fire God because He is not living up to our expectations is a long standing concern. Mere mortals think that we could do a better job. In this story, though, God hands over his power to Bruce for him to use as he sees fit. There are two rules: (a) respect free-will; (b) and don't let anyone know you're God. The movie is quite clever in placing many highly religious symbols near Bruce. During a party a Golden-cafe is quite noticeable; a man Bruce helps says "God bless you" to Bruce, even though, according to the story, Bruce is God.

Bruce learns that when he is granted God's powers he has a hard time dealing with the enormous number of things that God must do. Despite hearing many prayers, and hoping to respond to them, he has a hard time with this task. It is a task-intensive job.

With unlimited powers, many people would probably feel as though they would be happy and could accomplish anything they wanted to. But with the burdens of responding to prayers and feeling invicible, Bruce still was not happy. His relationship with his girlfriend was falling apart, and he could not use his powers to make her love him. He had to do the right thing in order for that to happen. To do so, ironically, he had to become a mere mortal once again, subject to the dangerous of everyday life. And when one unfortunate incident does happen -- to be left unsaid for those who have not seen the movie -- his girlfriend falls in love with him again, perhaps, at first, out of sympathy.

Michael ... Read more

Amazon.com

Whoopi Goldberg plays a loudmouthed, obsessive fan of the New York Knicks who wins a contest to coach the team. She soon finds that handling players is tough, fans are tough, owners are tough, and so on, but she's big enough to conquer them all with determination, smarts, and personality. The first half of the film is pretty cute as Goldberg's character makes the jump from opinionated spectator to the gal in the hot seat. But everything derails in the second half, which is mostly an op-ed piece about keeping pro-ball teams from moving out of their cities. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (5)

WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR...
This is a very enjoyable comedy, starring the irrepressible Whoopi Goldberg in the role of Edwina "Eddie" Franklin, the widow of a New York City police officer. Following in her late husband's footsteps, she coaches basketball for inner city kids. She is also the number one fan for the New York Knicks, a team that, despite the talent on it, can't seem to win a game. Eddie loves the team, no matter what, and can be seen high up in the rafters of every Knicks game, rabidly and raucously cheering them on.

When "Eddie" wins the honorary coach for the day contest at one of the Knicks' games, she manages to get thrown off the court by the head coach (Dennis Farina), when she protests a ref's call. This causes the fans to go wild, chanting her name as she leaves the court. When the head coach for the Knicks gets fired by the team's owner, Wild Bill Burgess (Frank Langella in a ten gallon hat), he hires "Eddie" as an interim head coach, as it seems that fans of the Knicks love "Eddie" and respond to her very positively. After all, she was one of them. Burgess, however, has no expectations of "Eddie's" ability to coach the team. "Eddie", however, aims to do everything she can to bring the Knicks out of their slump. For her, this is a dream come true.

This is a feel good sort of movie. Whoopi is very funny , as she goes about setting right what has gone wrong with the team. Frank Langella is terrific as the deal making team owner whose folksy manner belies the fact that he has his eye on the bottom line. Dennis Farina is credible as the head coach with a mouth as big as his monumental ego. While the film is fairly predictable, it is quite enjoyable. The viewer is also treated to a few fun cameos by Donald Trump, sports announcer Marv Alpert, and former NBA star, Walt Frazier. If you are not a big fan of basketball, however, deduct one star from my rating.

Good, But Could Have Been Better
The Story: Whoopi Goldberg plays a fan of the NY Knicks who wins a chance to coach for a day. It works so well that she gets hired.

The story is interesting and the movie starts out with lots of heart and humor. Then, two things happen to spoil it.

First, a scene is inserted (and it really feels like it was inserted, almost as an afterthought) wherein Whoopi Goldberg has a heated argument with the team owner, with profanity inserted in what seems a forced and contrived way. I've seen this in other movies (e.g., "Magic" starring Anthony Hopkins), and it looks like the profanity is inserted just to change the rating to grab the attention of teens, who go to the movies a lot.

Second, the film loses it's way and gets boring throughout much of the second half.

Ms. Goldberg, I hope you redo this movie and carry the heart and humor of the first half through the entire movie. It could be a 4-star or even a 5-star family movie.

Stop Before It Hurts!
[Add a star if you love Whoopi Goldberg.]

OK, class. Once again. It's important to realize what our perceptions are going in to a movie like this before one starts judging it. My perception going in was that we have yet another sports fantasy from the Disney sports fantasy factory. These are the same people who didn't know to stop with The Bad News Bears. So, they gave us The Mighty Ducks, Little GIANTS, and Angels In The Outfield.

This time out of the box it's "the Bad News Bears play NBA Basketball". Subbing for the Bears are the New York Knicks. Believe me, it's definitely bad news to see Mark Jackson back in a Knick uniform. Anyway, these Knicks are hopelessly bad. They're in last place and they have no signs of getting better. However, every sports team, no matter how bad, has its loyal fans.

Meet Eddie Franklin (Whoopi Goldberg). Eddie is fanatical about the Knicks. She loves them. She loves them so much that she, a limo dispatcher, does play-by-play and commentary over the limo service's airwaves. Where Eddie's friend goes to Knick games to meet men, Eddie goes to see the game.

Well, the Knicks are so bad that they've been sold to a new owner, one Wild Bill Burgess (Frank Langella). Will Bill is one of those stereotypical Texan billionaires who does everything large. Langella plays him well, but I could have seen Dennis Weaver in this role. Anyway, Burgess takes a ride in from the airport in Eddie's limo, who is inexplicably driving that day. Eddie's been listening to the FAN (WFAN Sports Radio 66, NYC) and ESPN Sports Radio. Eddie hates the Knicks' coach, played by Dennis Farina; so much so that she calls up Burgess, who doing a radio call-in, without realizing that he's in the back seat behind the glass. Burgess spies Eddie at the game later and decides to fix the halftime "Honorary Coach" contest so that he can throw Eddie and Bailey (Farina) together.

Eddie sinks the requisite free-throw and we're off. Franklin and Bailey don't like each other. (Bailey doesn't like anybody.) When Eddie steps on the court to protest a call, the referee assesses the Knicks a technical foul and Bailey has Eddie thrown out of the Garden to howls of protest from the fans. Seeing this, owner Burgess conspires to get rid of Bailey and hire a new coach. Meanwhile, he can hire Eddie as a one-shot interim coach until the dirty deed is done.

Of course, the plot is convoluted and full of holes, but the movie could still be entertaining if there were any energy on the screen. For the most part, there is none. The only chemistry I enjoyed was that between Franklin and veteran player Nate Wilson (John Salley).

As a native New Yorker, I especially thought it irritating that the movie's producers split up the announcing team of Marv Albert and Walt Frazier. Although both men play themselves, Frazier plays a sports-talk host rather than his usual (and colorful) role as Knick radio analyst. Anyone who has heard Albert and Frazier work together knows what I mean.

As in all these Disney sports fantasies, the Knicks start playing better under Franklin's coaching, but there's further trouble ahead. Actually, there's so much plot in this movie, they could have loaned some to Twister.

In conclusion, I'd wait for this movie to come to cable unless you just like Whoopi Goldberg films.

[Originally written 3 June 1996]

Good Family Fun
This film shows Whoopi Goldberg at her big mouth wise cracking best. The film is about a rich chairman who buys the New York Nicks and try's to turn a losing team into a freak show to make money. So he hires a big mouth fan as the head coach who he beleives can't coach. The first half of the film is funniest as Whoopi Goldberg tells the Nicks coaches what she really thinks of them. Some of the misfit players are quite good to. There is a Russian who can't speak any English, a great player except he won't pass the ball and a player who is more interested in his failing marriage. All in all, kids will love this one and adults should enjoy some of the humour.

Eddie was good.
Whoopi is one of my favorite actresses, so that might be why my review of this film is biased. Although rabid movie critics may disagree with me, I found the film to be rather enjoyable. It was fun watching Whoopi arise to the level of coach and turn around the fledgling Knicks. It's a light-hearted comedy with laughs and fun. Recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

The Cleavers meet Ru Paul
This is a good film that tells the story of a young couple that want to be foster parents. The kids they get are challenging to say the least and it has an impact on the relationship of the couple. The nice twist is that the couple is gay and living an excellant life. No clubs, Bars, Drugs or most of the normal Hollywood trappings of gay men ( note: Both men are in great shape and do work out at the gym in the story, so one stereotype is kept.). The fact that the men are gay is not the big issue in the film, it's the way the kids address the new foster parents and the massive issues that come up with the children and the Mother of the children who arrives without calling first. The story is good, the film quality is good and it's a very clean overall movie, except the profane words the little darlings arrive with. It's worth seeing and even worth buying. It's a nice movie to show in mixed company.

Truly A Wonderful Gay Movie that stands out
Get Your Stuff is truly a great movie that stands out when comapred to so many of the gay movies out today. A movie about Family instead of just Sex makes this a film worth watching.

A new perspective on modern family values.
Phil and Eric are a Beverly Hills gay couple who have it all - looks, money, friends, professional success, and a solid relationship. The next step appears to be bringing children into their family, so the couple begins the process of adopting a baby. This process is often a long, drawn out one for prospective parents, which can lead to frustration. When a child caseworker friend suggests that the men take in a couple of young brothers while waiting for the baby they want, Phil and Eric agree to foster the boys "just for one night." As the promised one-night-stay stretches into two nights, then three, then on and on, the two boys reveal themselves to be streetwise, somewhat homophobic, and more than a little interested in the contents of the liquor cabinet. Further complicating matters, the boys are tracked down by their mother, an alcoholic prostitute who lost custody of them. She initially wants to take the boys away from this "unwholesome" setting, but after witnessing their current living situation firsthand, changes her mind and seeks a permanent place in the arrangement. The resulting stress threatens to tear the couple apart, as one partner develops a soft spot for the boys and their mother, while the other just wants them gone.

The film is a solid first effort by writer/director Max Mitchell. He deftly touches upon issues including the importance of compromise and communication in a relationship, how to get through difficult stretches without self-destructing, and what it takes to make a family. As a school psychologist, I have worked with children in the foster system, as well as others in broken and highly dysfunctional homes, and the portrayals of the two boys in this film are spot-on. Their behaviors may seem outrageous and unbelievable, but when you look at the abuse and neglect these children go through all their lives, it's easy to understand that their acting out is their attempt to reject adults before they can be rejected themselves. Why would they want to start caring for and counting on another adult when that adult is just going to walk away and leave them behind soon, the way all the others have? I find Get Your Stuff to be an involving, funny, moving study of those who have a lot but are still missing something, and those who have little and just want a chance in life. If you're interested in a gay film that focuses on exploring family values from a new perspective, this is the film for you.

Not worth it
Okay, I'm a social worker, so I kinda judged this movie by this. The guys are really good eye candy and great bods. But, the situation is so cliched and boring that I keep wondering when they were going to come to their senses. The guy who plays the therapist is VERY cliched and doesn't have his own life grounded in any reality. It doesn't break any new (...) ground..it just rehashes the old, with kids thrown in. Don't get me started on the kids...Even the kids I supervised never behaved like that.

Refreshing gay film about 2 gay guys raising a family.
After reading some of the bad reviews about this movie I was afraid to see this, but I took a gamble and rented it anyway out of curiousity and the 2 hot guys on the cover lol and I have to admit Get Your Stuff is a good movie. Such a refreshing film about gay guys and family. Man are those 2 foster kids a hand full. ... Read more

Reviews (311)

fun -- perfect vehicle for Carrey
Bruce (Jim Carrey) is the beloved human interest reporter at a local television station in Buffalo and he lives with Grace (Jennifer Aniston), but he is not content. He wants to be news anchor and command respect. After repeatedly blaming God for his problems, the Almighty (Morgan Freeman) gives Bruce his powers for a couple of weeks. This is a great premise and Carrey is a hoot as the self-absorbed Bruce. The film deals with Bruce's use of these magnificent powers and his coming to realize that he is indeed already a lucky man.

The entire cast, particularly The Daily Show's Steve Carrell, is very good, and the script is quite funny.

DVD extras are quite good: a commentary track with director Tom Shadyac; a 6-minute featurette on Carrey's comedy style; 6-1/2 minutes of outtakes; 30 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary; cast & crew info; a trailer; and a Chase MasterCard commercial (yikes!). The film can be heard or subtitled in English or French.

Lots of fun, and generally suitable for the whole family -- your kids will love the scenes of the dog's conversion from chronic house-pee-er to toilet-using mutt!

What Would YOU Do If You Were THE ALMIGHTY ?
Your reaction to this movie will depend on your expectations, it is neither ACE VENTURA nor THE MAJESTIC. The movie OH GOD had John Denver as the earnest nonbeliever and straightman for the comic George Burns as a playful God. BRUCE ALMIGHTY reverses the typecasting; it has the wild and wacky Jim Carrey as the playful and irreverent reporter Bruce Nolan who is suddenly given the powers of The Almighty, played with wonderfully understated grace and perserverance by Morgan Freeman. The story is simplicity itself, Jim Carrey is a TV reporter with a real talent for doing human interest stories with a humorous twist, but who feels underappreciated and yearns for a spot on his Buffalo NY station's anchor desk. His longtime girlfriend Grace Connelly (played by Jennifer Aniston) also feels somewhat taken for granted, since Bruce seems to be more concerned about his career than their relationship. The stresses in Bruce's life suddenly converge when he is fired from his job after a disastrous (and hilarious) live interview conducted on THE MAID OF THE MIST while under Niagara Falls. Never particularly religious despite his girlfriend's entreaties to seek comfort from prayer, in a defiant gesture Bruce totally rejects all belief in the possibility of any help from God. Supposedly summoned by pager to a job interview, in a wonderful encounter with incredible symbolism (an all white environment with a black God) Morgan Freeman endows Bruce with the powers of THE ALMIGHTY and challenges him to do a better job while obeying only two seemingly simple rules. Then the fun, adventure and suddenly changed trajectory of Bruce's life begins.

If you want to see Jim Carrey at his comic best, you will love this movie. Imagine what he can do and the havoc that he can create as THE ALL POWERFUL with almost no limitations on his abilities. (The trailers accurately relect this aspect of the film.) Where the movie disappoints in my opinion was its use of comedy to explore the issues which it raises about religion and its role in our lives, personal relationships, pursuit of happiness, and feelings of accomplishment. As you can imagine, Bruce at first refuses to believe that he has been endowed with extraordinary powers, then initially uses them for mundane personal purposes in several really funny incidents. After a few additional visits and consultations with Morgan Freeman, Bruce gradually comes to accept the fact that being almighty is more complicated and involves more responsibility than simply creating personal gratification. The next lesson also involves the fact that there are often unintended consequences which stem from good (as well as bad) intentions; one person's good fortune may cause problems for someone else. Despite the serious undertone, the comedic aspects of the incidents inevitably dominate the storyline.

While comedy can be a wonderful way to enlighten as well as entertain, in many instances this film instead opts for complete farce. This aspect combines with the fact that many of the miracles are more like cheap magic tricks rather than almighty acts to lessen the potential of the film to be truly thoughtprovoking. (It also means that regardless of which faith you espouse, if you have strongly fundamentalist religious beliefs you may be offended by some aspects of this movie.) There were some great issues raised, but always implicitly with the exception of the role of free will; it appears that the filmmakers kept their story very bland to reamin as inoffensive as possible; but that seems at odds with a story about a man and his encounter with THE ALMIGHTY.

This was an interesting movie that I want to see again to test my first reaction. I enjoyed the humor immensely; I watched it in a crowded theater and the entire audience laughed hysterically at times. Morgan Freeman was superb in a limited although central role, and Jennifer Aniston was perfect as the frustrated girlfriend. The dog was a lovable character as well. TWO IMPORTANT NOTES: first, don't leave when the credits start rolling, there are some subsequent great outtakes; second, pay particular attention to the signs held up periodically by Jack Jozefson (the homeless man) - they are not only wonderfully apropos but one of the methods by which the message of the story is subtly, if only silently, conveyed. So while I highly recommend this film, my four star rating relects the fact that the attempts to play for comedy and blandness kept it far from what could have been its six star potential.

Not funny
Bruce Almighty is supposed to be funny, but Carrey doesnt delivers. Carrey's juvenile humor has gotten old, and this movie is no exception. The movie is better for its humanity, than for its comedy.

Garbage
I was dragged to this movie and was ready to leave before it was over. I could have cried when I couldn't get my money back. Jim Carey is one of my favorite comedic actors, but this was definitely not his best.

The Story Takes on a Novel Approach to God
ACTING: As usual, Jim Carrey does an outstanding performance. Of course, his acting is quite similar in everything that he does. Jennifer Aniston, however, does terribly. It's hard to take her role seriously at all. Since I never watched "Friends," I did not realize that she lacked any talent whatsoever.

In any case, the story was very clever. The notion that one wants to fire God because He is not living up to our expectations is a long standing concern. Mere mortals think that we could do a better job. In this story, though, God hands over his power to Bruce for him to use as he sees fit. There are two rules: (a) respect free-will; (b) and don't let anyone know you're God. The movie is quite clever in placing many highly religious symbols near Bruce. During a party a Golden-cafe is quite noticeable; a man Bruce helps says "God bless you" to Bruce, even though, according to the story, Bruce is God.

Bruce learns that when he is granted God's powers he has a hard time dealing with the enormous number of things that God must do. Despite hearing many prayers, and hoping to respond to them, he has a hard time with this task. It is a task-intensive job.

With unlimited powers, many people would probably feel as though they would be happy and could accomplish anything they wanted to. But with the burdens of responding to prayers and feeling invicible, Bruce still was not happy. His relationship with his girlfriend was falling apart, and he could not use his powers to make her love him. He had to do the right thing in order for that to happen. To do so, ironically, he had to become a mere mortal once again, subject to the dangerous of everyday life. And when one unfortunate incident does happen -- to be left unsaid for those who have not seen the movie -- his girlfriend falls in love with him again, perhaps, at first, out of sympathy.

Michael ... Read more