Evan Almighty falls a little short on the comedic side
9:38 a.m. Friday, June 22, 2007
In Evan Almighty Steve Carell plays Evan Baxter, a newsman who gets elected into congress. Evan thinks he has it all. He has an aspiring political career, a big new, status symbol house, and a bright future ahead. Those career aspirations do come at a price as his wife (Lauren Graham) and their kids often take a back seat to his needs.
Just as he's ready to change the world, Evan receives mysterious packages to his home. One package contains antique tools, and one is a load of lumber. Soon Evan learns that God (Morgan Freeman) is sending him these things. God's plan for Evan is simple. He wants an arc built in a plan to teach humility, togetherness, integrity, and the art of doing random acts of kindness.
I had such high hopes for Evan Almighty due to Steve Carell being involved. In the end I was left disappointed. There are funny moments due to the talents of Carell, but those are too few and far between. I kept waiting for the movie to take advantage of the fact that God talks to a politician and enlists him to change the world. My question is, “are there any people on earth who need a visit from God more than politicians?” That premise itself should have produced enough comedic lines to fuel this comedy, but it does not.
My other problem is I didn't feel there were enough scenes between Freeman and Carell. When they are interacting on screen it’s very entertaining. It’s the strong point of the film, but the lack of those scenes is the movie’s biggest drawback. The very talented Lauren Graham, who just recently wrapped her T.V. gig on the Gilmore Girls, has the thankless role of playing the frustrated wife to the Carell character. You also have effective supporting roles by John Goodman and Ed Helms that add a couple of the high points. Then the low point is the ever annoying Wanda Sykes, who to me is like nails on a chalkboard. Her one liners are some of the least funny moments of the film.
Evan Almighty is the most expensive comedy ever filmed. I don’t think anyone would have minded if they would have sunk a portion of that budget into a funnier script and gave up a few of the special effects. This is not a bad movie. It is one of the few summer films I had high expectations for and in the end I walked away with kind of an empty feeling.
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