July 9, 2007
Evan Almighty (2007)
Should I see it?
Nope.
Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) begins his new position as a Senator. After moving his family into a posh development he gets visited by God (Morgan Freeman). God asks him to build an ark and to warn the world of an impending flood. The remainder of the piece focuses on Evan building his ark while also deciding if he should sign piece of environmental legislation being pushed by the senior senator from his state (John Goodman). Evan begins to take on the physical appearance of Noah while animals begin to swarm around him and his ark.
This is simply a bad movie.
This is the costliest comedy ever made with a budget upwards to $175,000,000.00. This proves that all of the money in the world can’t fix bad ideas. This piece is poorly written, poorly constructed and poorly directed. Even as a simple distraction, a cinematic bauble, it fails to please. I’ve seen screen savers with more narrative punch than this tone-deaf waste.
The premises are interesting but left relatively untouched. Instead of playing off of the comedy that is inherent in a materialist being confronted by God, the film delves into poop humor and groin shots. Its not that I’m completely against a good, solid groin shot gag or a poop joke for that matter. These things do have their places. In this instance however, its just too much salt for the soup. Furthermore, they make strange decisions such as Evan taking on the physical appearance of Noah as he continues to work on the ark. There’s no reason given for this transformation and it comes across as a forced gag that doesn't resonate. It’s a hollow joke which doesn’t play – in other words it matches the rest of the piece.
Worldview: The central question posed is how one can find happiness. In the beginning, Evan is consumed by his position and material goods (including his looks). Under the gentle coaxing by God, Evan reconnects with his family and nature and finds real happiness.
This overarching concept is then buttressed by an environmental subplot involving Evan signing a piece of legislation that would open portions of the national parks to developers. All of this is handled with some caution until the final act.
***SPOILER WARNING - the ending is given here***
In the end, the ark is built just as a damn breaks and floods the valley where Evan lives. The ark is then shuttled by the flood to a balcony of the Senate where the questionable bill is about to be signed. God allows the flood to occur to stop bad law making. It is important to note the flood is not one of vengeance but one made by man. This of course then puts the question of how far does our free will extend into play.
Jesus is not present in this piece nor is he referenced. Given the story and how it is expressed, this is not a “Christian” movie. This is more of a “Jewish” one. There are Biblical elements at play but they are not fully realized and come across as concessions more than lessons. This is a “spiritual” film, meaning it wants to appear Biblical without the commitment.
This film has caused quite a stink in Christian circles because of the presence of God (Morgan Freeman) on screen. Many have quickly dismissed this film based on the low brow humor of its predecessor Bruce Almighty. Others have claimed this piece runs afoul of the Second Commandment:
Exodus 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
While having Morgan Freeman on screen portraying God in a dumb comedy may make some uncomfortable, I don’t believe it breaks the law. We are not asked to worship this image. While he imparts wisdom not spoken by God, we understand he is Morgan Freeman and not actually the real deal.
Another concern is the revisiting of God being involved in a flood when he promised not produce another one. In the context of this film he doesn’t make the flood, we do through our actions. Problem solved.
Cautions: Given their lack of depth combined with their need to be completely family friendly, the filmmakers go wall-to-wall poop jokes in this film. Why is it that family films always have to have poop and fart jokes these days? This goes hand in hand with the sexual innuendos that most family fare now has to contain in order to amuse the adults. While this film avoids sexual humor, you will gag on all of the feces gags.
The language is tame and there isn’t a butt or nipple to be found. This film is safe for all ages but certainly not all sets of I.Q.s, Children will probably become bored, as will the adults, with the long spans of needless talking (without being funny).
Other Movie Reviews:
Hollywood Jesus
FilmJerk
More Steve Carrell Movies:
The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Labels: comedy, Evan Almighty, family film, Morgan Freeman, movie review, Steve Carell
posted by Michelle Obama's Left Nut at 7:33 AM
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June 26, 2007
Opening Salvo
Welcome to my site.
I have put this site together as a means to look at film within a Christian context. Over the years being involved in theatre and film I have seen many Christians react to entertainment media with dismissal. To many Christians, Hollywood is a snake pit whose only purpose is to poison the world. Usually the relationship between Christians and Hollywood is one of mutual spite and irritation. This sour relationship didn’t happen overnight and both sides have reasons to want to snipe at their supposed foe.
In reaction to Hollywood some Christians have built their own mini film industry. This industry is heavily littered with low rent productions which choke out the good works. Many of the productions cater to the most sensitive members in the audience. Christian filmmakers usually expend so much effort not saying anything offensive that they end up saying nothing at all. On the flip side of the screen, Christian audiences, while eager to denounce Hollywood productions are far too lenient with filmmakers who put their word “Christian” on their work. Listen, Christian film stinks. It stinks but it doesn’t have to. The problem with Christian film isn’t distribution or budgets. It’s not even a lack of talent. It is a lack of proper storytelling and most importantly a continual inability in telling the truth. Christian audiences are left turning to a mini-industry that only serves to support the most legalistic thinking in the church rather than opening their minds and hearts to the beauty in God’s creation.
In truth, this blog owes its existence to Challies.com. On his site, Tim Challies railed against the recent film Evan Almighty. Challies threw scorn on this film which retells the story of Noah, but with a modern twist. The tone of the attack was indignant. It was sinful for the filmmakers to portray Noah in a comedic light (although Bill Cosby and others have been doing this for decades without equal scorn) and it was blasphemy to represent God on screen, or at least in the context of this production. Tim Challies post isn’t anything new and I’m not necessarily going to throw my lot in with Evan Almighty – unlike Challies, I’ll reserve my judgements for things I’ve actually seen (I’m silly that way). What struck me were the comments to Challies post. Over and over again Christians beating themselves up for daring to watch (and enjoy) the original Bruce Almighty film. Over and over again Christians laying out legalistic arguments and denouncements of the unfaithful. Threats of audience members being cast into hellfire and then there’s the gnashing of teeth and cries of sorrow…
As a Christian, a film reviewer and screenwriter, I believe I have the background to speak to the issues that surround Christians and the cinema. I believe that it is merely an issue of ignorance. I don’t use the word ignorance to mean stupid, it means uninformed. Christians have been sold a bill of goods about movies and its time they see it for what it really is – a societal tool. I will explain filmmaking and more importantly storytelling and look at what films are teaching us. I hope that Christians will gain a new viewpoint on the cinema and learn to distill the good from the bad on the screen.
I have put this site together as a means to look at film within a Christian context. Over the years being involved in theatre and film I have seen many Christians react to entertainment media with dismissal. To many Christians, Hollywood is a snake pit whose only purpose is to poison the world. Usually the relationship between Christians and Hollywood is one of mutual spite and irritation. This sour relationship didn’t happen overnight and both sides have reasons to want to snipe at their supposed foe.
In reaction to Hollywood some Christians have built their own mini film industry. This industry is heavily littered with low rent productions which choke out the good works. Many of the productions cater to the most sensitive members in the audience. Christian filmmakers usually expend so much effort not saying anything offensive that they end up saying nothing at all. On the flip side of the screen, Christian audiences, while eager to denounce Hollywood productions are far too lenient with filmmakers who put their word “Christian” on their work. Listen, Christian film stinks. It stinks but it doesn’t have to. The problem with Christian film isn’t distribution or budgets. It’s not even a lack of talent. It is a lack of proper storytelling and most importantly a continual inability in telling the truth. Christian audiences are left turning to a mini-industry that only serves to support the most legalistic thinking in the church rather than opening their minds and hearts to the beauty in God’s creation.
In truth, this blog owes its existence to Challies.com. On his site, Tim Challies railed against the recent film Evan Almighty. Challies threw scorn on this film which retells the story of Noah, but with a modern twist. The tone of the attack was indignant. It was sinful for the filmmakers to portray Noah in a comedic light (although Bill Cosby and others have been doing this for decades without equal scorn) and it was blasphemy to represent God on screen, or at least in the context of this production. Tim Challies post isn’t anything new and I’m not necessarily going to throw my lot in with Evan Almighty – unlike Challies, I’ll reserve my judgements for things I’ve actually seen (I’m silly that way). What struck me were the comments to Challies post. Over and over again Christians beating themselves up for daring to watch (and enjoy) the original Bruce Almighty film. Over and over again Christians laying out legalistic arguments and denouncements of the unfaithful. Threats of audience members being cast into hellfire and then there’s the gnashing of teeth and cries of sorrow…
Click on the poster to view the trailer
As a Christian, a film reviewer and screenwriter, I believe I have the background to speak to the issues that surround Christians and the cinema. I believe that it is merely an issue of ignorance. I don’t use the word ignorance to mean stupid, it means uninformed. Christians have been sold a bill of goods about movies and its time they see it for what it really is – a societal tool. I will explain filmmaking and more importantly storytelling and look at what films are teaching us. I hope that Christians will gain a new viewpoint on the cinema and learn to distill the good from the bad on the screen.Labels: Christian culture, commentary, Evan Almighty, links
posted by Michelle Obama's Left Nut at 1:55 PM
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