Evan Almighty (2007)

Director:

Tom Shadyac

Writers (WGA):

Steve Oedekerk (screenplay)
Steve Oedekerk (story) ...

Release Date:

22 June 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

A comedy of biblical proportions

Plot:

God (Freeman) contacts Congressman Evan Baxter (Carell) and tells him to build an ark in preparation for a great flood.

Plot Keywords:

Random Act Of Kindness | Tool Box | Critically Bashed | Boat | Box Office Flop

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. May 13	8:00 PM	HBO
Sat. May 17	11:30 AM	HBO

Cast

Steve Carell	...	Evan Baxter
Morgan Freeman	...	God
Lauren Graham	...	Joan Baxter
Johnny Simmons	...	Dylan Baxter
Graham Phillips	...	Jordan Baxter
Jimmy Bennett	...	Ryan Baxter
John Goodman	...	Congressman Long
Wanda Sykes	...	Rita
John Michael Higgins	...	Marty
Jonah Hill	...	Eugene
Molly Shannon	...	Eve Adams
Harve Presnell	...	Congressman Burrows
P.J. Byrne	...	Evan's Staffer
Ralph Louis Harris	...	Evan's Staffer (as Ralph Harris)
Arden Myrin	...	Evan's Staffer

Also Known As:

Bruce Almighty 2 (USA) (working title)
Bruce: The Second Coming (USA) (working title)
The Passion of the Ark (USA) (original script title)
A Volta do Todo Poderoso (Brazil) [pt]
Aman tanrim! (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Evan Allmächtig (Germany) [de]
Evan le tout-puissant (Canada: French title) [fr]
Evan taivaanlahja (Finland) [fi]
Evan tout-puissant (France) [fr]
Evan, a minden6ó (Hungary) [hu]
Impresa da Dio, Un' (Italy) [it]
Kõikvõimas Evan (Estonia) [et]
Noe gia mia vdomada (Greece) [el]
Regreso del todopoderoso (Argentina) [es]
Sigo como dios (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild rude humor and some peril.

Runtime:

95 min | USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/6 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Argentina:Atp | South Korea:All | Taiwan:GP | Peru:PT | Netherlands:6 | UK:PG | Germany:6 | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:PG | Australia:G | Finland:K-7

Filming Locations:

Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The ark shown in Prestige Crest was built as a full size ark, with added sections being built for other shots requiring CGI. The frame of the ark was steel with wood effect paneling to make the construction easier and cheaper.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Evan asks for unleavened bread and his wife hands him a Pita Bread. Pita is not considered unleavened bread.

Quotes:

God: [on a piece of paper] Ask, and you receive.

Movie Connections:

References "The Daily Show" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Have You Ever Seen the Rain

Surprisingly good, although Carrey fans should stay away

I didn't expect much when I bought this film, actually I never even heard there was a sequel to the wonderful Bruce Almighty until I noticed the similar names while browsing in a shop, and I remembered the name Evan. How could anyone forget Evan Baxter from the first movie? His performance, although short, was fantastic, and the scene where Bruce was messing with him was very memorable.

I found Evan Almighty to be quite good, in contrast to some of the reviews here. I was very surprised to see this movie scoring at only 5.7 at the time of this review. Sure there were some cheesy scenes, Wanda Sykes' lines were hit and miss, Jonah Hill as Eugene was just... weird.... but those things don't detract from what is a solid movie with lots of laughter. The only thing I can think of is that Carrey fans would probably be disappointed, as there's less slapstick action but more subtle humor. This is because Steve Carell has a different style, so it's extremely unfair to compare him to Jim Carrey.

This is a family comedy with excellent morals. It should definitely be viewed with the entire family. I enjoyed the humor from Carell, I thought the character for him was spot-on and really gave him an opportunity to shine on the stage. Lauren Graham was decent, I thought she played a deeper character than in Bad Santa, but she was okay as the wife. Morgan Freeman was great as usual. The other characters all did well including John Goodman but Carell carried this movie. There are some surprises that some may find cheesy or too predictable, but the final scene was immense. It was definitely more powerful than any scene from Bruce Almighty.

So give Evan Almighty a chance, rent it at least. It's a nice movie that I really can't find any glaring faults that would turn someone off.