EVAN ALMIGHTY
Evan Almighty
Rated: PG
Features:
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Animals On Set Two By Two
Animal Roundup Game
Steve Carell Unscripted
The Ark-itects Of Noah's Ark
And Much More!
Running Time: 96 minutes
What do you get when you take two talented A-list actors, multiple pairs of different animals and combine it all with a giant ark? A cinematic disaster.
Evan Almighty is the sequel to 2003’s
Bruce Almighty which starred
Jjim Carrey. It went on to be a box office success with its warm storyline, abundance of laughs and positive message. Unfortunately, 2007’s sequel has lost the warmth & laughs, but the positive message is still around. Sadly, it is not enough to keep this sinking movie afloat. Stars
Steve Carell’s comedic talents and
Morgan Freeman’s likeability are wasted on an unfunny script that misses everything that made
Bruce Almighty so likable.
Carell reprises his role as Evan Baxter, a television anchorman who has now been elected to Congress. On his way to Congress and through a group of family prayers, Evan is paid a visit by God Himself (Freeman, reprising his heavenly role). God informs Evan that a flood is coming and he should build an ark in his backyard and delivers him the materials, tools and a copy of Ark Building for Dummies to help him complete his task. To emphasize His request, God also bestows upon the well-manicured Evan an always growing abundance of hair, until he eventually turns into a white haired/white bearded Noah. Evan’s family leave him, but eventually return after his wife (played by Lauren Graham) runs into God in a diner, where He informs her that he has answered the family’s prayers of being closer together by giving Evan the task of building the ark. Evan’s family, along with some help from the animals, finish it in time to rescue the family, remaining animals and townspeople from the flood which is really nothing more than the local dam breaking. The film ends with God telling Evan that the word “ark” actually stands for “acts of random kindness” and it is through these acts, that a change will be brought about in the world. The best part of the film is the closing credits as the whole cast and crew dance to
C&C Music Factory...and it also marks the end of this torturous movie experience.
The DVD release tries to make up for this terrible film by loading itself up with a series of featurettes on the different aspects of creating the movie. There are a ton of deleted scenes, some of which are funnier than what made it into the actual film. There is a 3 minute outtake reel, which isn’t all that funny, with the exception of when Wanda Sykes (who is actually the funniest part of the whole movie) shows up with some flubbed lines and on-set laughter. There is a featurette that shows the building of the ark, the casting of the animals, the crew going “green” and the digital effects creation of the flood. There is also a game that is good for children to learn things about animals by answering multiple choice questions with the DVD remote. All of these are more interesting than the 96 minute feature – so if you’re stuck watching the movie with your kids, leave the room and come back for the Extras.
