MOVIE REVIEW: Evan Almighty

06/20/07

Can you “Change the world”? According to God (Morgan Freeman) you can start by simply doing acts of random kindness. Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) needed to learn that lesson. He also needed and was heavily
persuaded to build an ark for the coming flood. The what? In the 21st century? But in the Bible God said  He would never do that again?    Well . . .

Honestly, I heard so much negativity surrounding this project and its wasted hefty budget that I went in with low expectations. Heck, I even tried not to like it but I couldn’t. I laughed, sympathized, connected,
almost cried, cheered, and applauded at the end. It is a pleasantly charming and inspiring modern day version of one of the oldest stories in the Old Testament, with a twist of course. When I first heard about
this movie I really thought the story line was going to be dull, thus ruining it. Director/Producer Tom Shadyac (Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty, The Nutty Professor) made sure that didn’t happen. There was beauty
in the nature, beauty in the animals, beauty in the ark, beauty in the family, beauty in the comedy, and beauty in the faith. The story was true to its source too. From the ark and animals to the beard and robes to the ridicule and incredulity of the people, I was not disappointed. I think even the true Almighty One  would be satisfied. By the way, an 80’ W x 60’ H x 275’ L ark replica was built in the production of this
movie, which is unheard of in the age of computer graphics. Granted, many may argue that this Almighty  is not better than when Bruce was tapped, but it is still good. It’s goode!

Jim Carrey is a tough act to follow, so you have to give Steve some credit for stepping up to the plate and delivering. Sure, he might not be Barry Bonds just yet, but he has a pretty good batting average. Morgan
Freeman as God once again, are you kidding? He is the best human being to play that all important role since George Burns in the Oh God movies. John Goodman as a congressman is quite intimidating. I’m
biased when it comes to Wanda Sykes. Although her character was mostly pointless, and usually her characters are, it doesn’t matter. Her delivery of one-liners is just classic.

An impressive fact about this movie is that it was a “green” production. Given its environmental theme, it would be contradictory for the production to not follow suit. In order to balance out the calculated carbon emissions during production, 2050 trees were planted. In addition, every piece of material used in the production that could be salvaged was recycled and donated.

So, can you “Change the world”? Most definitely. You can either “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.” —Genesis 6:14, or start
with some acts of random kindness. If you need some inspiration, go see Evan Almighty.