| EVAN ALMIGHTY |
 2007 - USADirector: Tom Shadyac
- Reviewed by Vickie
Is it flawless? Nope. Does it take great liberties with the Bible story of Noah and gloss over a lot of what would otherwise be factual errors and misrepresentations? Yup. But did I enjoy it, anyway? You bet. Thanks in large part has to go to its irresistibly likable star, Steve Carell. Ever since his Daily Show days, I’ve been a fan of his dead-pan style and, more recently in films like Little Miss Sunshine, his understated performances. Here, as news anchor turned congressman Evan Baxter, he’s once again impossible not to like. Storywise, the film’s fairly simple: Evan is elected and one night prays for the ability to change the world in his new position of power. Enter God (Morgan Freeman), who replies, “’Kay, then. Here’s a ton of lumber, a how-to guide on boat building and a mission: build me an ark because a flood’s coming.” Not surprisingly, Evan scoffs...until he realizes that the Big Guy is totally serious. Animals start following him around, his hair starts to grow à la Noah and Evan begins undergoing a physical and psychological metamorphosis. Everyone around him—including his wife (Lauren Graham), his assistant (Wanda Sykes) and his corrupt new boss (John Goodman)—thinks he’s gone off the deep end but, as the clichéd saying goes, God works in mysterious ways. In short, His message is: baby steps to greatness. Evan Almighty is, at its core, a family film. As such, it’s low on profanity (there is none) and high on the feel-good vibe, occasional slapstick humor (plenty of pratfalls during the ark-building sequence) and admittedly cheesy moral. Anyone walking into the film expecting a cataclysmic, end-of-the-world film befitting the actual Noah story will be disappointed; God isn’t out to smite all of humanity and destroy Earth this time around, he’s just trying to make a subtle point to one guy on a very, very grand scale. Carell does a fine job as Evan (though the character becomes a little overly sanctimonious and saintly towards the end), and Graham does her best with what’s essentially a token wife role. Supporting players Sykes and Freeman are both excellent, though, infusing their characters with perfect amounts of wry wit and non-preachy preaching, respectively. Even the ubiquitous Jonah Hill (already seen this summer in Knocked Up and soon to be co-headlining Superbad) is entertaining as a congressional suck-up with a stalker-like love of Evan. This is the kind of movie parents can see with their kids without having to suffer through crass, one-note jokes (see: Are We Done Yet?, Daddy Day Care or countless other films of that ilk). It’ll make you smile and, if you’re able to set aside your cynicism for about 90 minutes, more likely than not it’ll also leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling when it’s over. |
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Is Evan Almighty an excellent film? No.
