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Movie Review - Evan Almighty (2007)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Tom Shadyac |
| Starring: |
Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, and Wanda Sykes |
| Rated: |
PG (for mild rude humor and some peril) |
| Length: |
95 minutes |
| Genre: |
Comedy/Fantasy |
| Tagline: |
A comedy of biblical proportions |
| Studio: |
Universal |
| Website: |
Evan Almighty |
| Release: |
June 22, 2007 |
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PLOT
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Newly elected to Congress, Evan Baxter (Carell) leaves Buffalo and his news anchorman days behind him and he moves his wife, Joan
(Graham), and three sons to bigger, greener pastures. At the advice of his wife, Evan offers a casual prayer, asking God to help
him change the world. He initially believes this involves co-sponsoring a high-profile bill at the expense of neglecting his
family, but God (Freeman) soon pays him a visit and informs him that he has a new project - build an ark in preparation for a
great flood. A modern-day retelling of the story of Noah's Ark ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Good news to all you fans of Hostel 2 and Knocked Up! You should feel no obligation
to lay your hard-earned money down for Evan Almighty, particularly if words such as cute, sweet, and harmless send you
running for the hills.
Look, I could analyze this all day long, but there's a concept that's very important to keep in mind when deciding whether or
not this is worth your time - target audience. It's highly unlikely that the film's chosen demographic will concern
itself with the movie's glaring plot holes. I just don't envision any seven year olds wrestling with why Evan doesn't attempt
to prove to everybody that his beard is indeed growing back immediately after shaving. If that were me then I'd drag people
to the mirror, give them a shaving demonstration, and demand that they explain THAT! I'd also be all, "Um, HELLO!
Animals are following me around! How can you NOT believe me, heathen?!" There was comedic potential there.
Nope, this is one that the kids will absolutely love. Throw a bunch of animals on screen and they'll giggle and be happy for
an hour and a half. Is it cheesy? Yeah, witness Evan filling his nostrils with shaving cream to get rid of his nose hairs.
Who does that? Nobody, but the kids in the audience howled with laughter.
This isn't the best showcase for Steve Carell's talents (it's the kind of role you take AFTER you're a star, not one that
makes you a star) but he does display a bit of his comedic charm and gives us a few healthy laughs. It's not nearly as funny
as its predecessor Bruce Almighty, which did a much better job of exploring the concept of what today's man might do
with Godly abilities, and I don't even think the "moral of the story" is as strong, but it is more family-friendly. And with
that moniker comes edges that are highly polished.
It's the kind of film that aims to please everybody and tows the PC-line a little too tightly so as not to
offend anybody. God is good, nature's good, everything's good, good, good! Except for man, of course. Since
we love to destroy nature and all. Let's shove that down everybody's throats. Oh, and did you realize "Ark" stood for "Acts
of Random Kindness"? Looks like I missed that part of Genesis.
At the end of this flick's runtime, I realized I was never bored, and I was fairly entertained, but like a big ball of
cotton candy, once the sugar rush disseminates, it's quickly forgotten. My buddies and I won't exactly be quoting from it
or remembering it fondly years later. But I suppose not everything can be Dumb and Dumber.
So do I think it's worth paying to see? Well, I wouldn't have paid to see it, and I certainly don't think it's anywhere near
worth the reported $175 million it cost to make. Other than an impressive sequence near the end that involves a flooded
D.C., I honestly don't see where all the money went. This had a higher budget than both Revenge of
the Sith and Batman Begins? Come on now. But if you have kids and you can handle
"cute" then sure, make it a matinee. Otherwise, it'll do just fine as a rental.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- On one hand, it was interesting to see a story like Noah's Ark placed in a modern context and get a visual idea of how
humanity would react to someone saying he'd been instructed by God to build a huge boat (they'd react about like Jon
Stewart in his brief but funny cameo). But on the other hand, it's frustrating if you stop to think about the
potential this story could have fulfilled if the filmmakers had decided not to play it safe.
- Morgan Freeman is the first to admit that his niche is not always comedy. "Me, I'm not a comedian. Write it down, and
I'll say it," he says with a chuckle. His philosophy is simple: "Learn the lines and be as honest as you can. If the material
is funny and the timing is right, it will be funny."
- Over 177 different species were brought in from all over the country.
- "It's Noah's Ark. You have to have lots of animals," director Tom Shadyac plainly states. "We have the most animals ever
shot practically in a movie in show business history. And every animal you'll see in Evan looks seamless and very integrated,
as each animal was placed into each shot individually."
- The ark's final dimensions were set at 80' (W) X 60' (H) X 275' (L) - which was ultimately digitally extended to 450' (L),
the length of Noah's Ark in the Bible.
- The effects studio created 300 pairs of the large-scale CG animals to help fill Evan's ark, as well as 15 pairs of "hero"
CG animals for close-up, brilliantly detailed shots.
- Steve Carell was in Melinda and Melinda with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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It's PG for a reason - the studio wants kids to come in droves. The most offensive thing in the movie is probably the mention
of a duck's penis. Do you realize I think that's the first time I've ever used that word on this site? Well, it's for the sake
of informing moviegoers.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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If you've seen the trailer then you know what to expect.
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THE GIST
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Evan Almighty is worth a matinee if your kids are begging you to go see it. They likely won't be burdened with
my analysis, and it's one most adults can handle assuming you know what to expect.
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