Bruce Almighty

Bruce Almighty
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Tom Shadyac
Written by	Steve Oedekerk Steve Koren Mark O'Keefe
Produced by	Tom Shadyac Jim Carrey James D. Brubaker Michael Bostick Steve Koren Mark O'Keefe Associate Producer: Linda Fields Jonathan Watson Janet L. Wattles Executive Producer: Gary Barber Roger Birnbaum Steve Oedekerk
Starring	Jim Carrey Morgan Freeman Jennifer Aniston Lisa Ann Walter Catherine Bell Steve Carell Philip Baker Hall Nora Dunn Eddie Jemison Sally Kirkland
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Edited by	Scott Hill
Music by	John Debney
Production company	Spyglass Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (USA) Buena Vista Pictures (non-USA)
Release date	May 23, 2003 (2003-05-23)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$81 million
Box office	$484,592,874

Bruce Almighty is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. It stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck TV reporter who complains that God isn't doing his job right, and is then offered the chance to try being God himself. Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Catherine Bell, Lisa Ann Walter, and Philip Baker Hall also star, while Tony Bennett makes a cameo appearance.

This is Tom Shadyac & Jim Carrey's third collaborations after working together in Shadyac's first film Ace Ventura Pet Detective which also launched Carrey's career. Then three years later, Shadyac & Carrey met again in the successful Liar Liar.

The film was a box office success despite mixed reviews from critics. When released in American theaters in May 2003, it took the #1 spot at the box office, grossing $85.89 million, higher than the release of Pearl Harbor, making it the highest-rated Memorial Day weekend opening of any film in motion picture history until the release of X-Men: The Last Stand over Memorial Day 2006. The movie surprised media analysts when it beat The Matrix Reloaded after its first week of release. By the time it left theaters in December 2003, it took in a United States domestic total of over $242 million and $484 million worldwide, breaking records as the 17th highest-grossing live action comedy of all time.

Plot

Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a television field reporter for Eyewitness News on WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York, who, through his continuous coverage of media interest stories, rather than hard news, is unsuccessful at getting a job as an anchorman. He is in love with his girlfriend Grace (Jennifer Aniston), but is also very attracted to his gorgeous co-worker Susan who doesn't even notice him. When anticipating a promotion to a vacant anchor position, Bruce loses his temper while on the air when rival co-worker Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) is promoted instead of him. Bruce is fired, and he complains to God that He is treating him (Bruce) unfairly and is doing a poor job as supreme deity. God (Morgan Freeman) then contacts Bruce and grants Bruce all of His power so as to prove he can do a better job. The only limitations are that Bruce cannot tell people he is God, and he cannot interfere with free will. Bruce uses his new-found omnipotent powers for personal gain - he enhances Grace's breasts and sex drive, gets revenge on a street gang that assaulted him after he told them to stop picking on a homeless man, acquires a Saleen S7 sports car, and gets his job back by uncovering the corpse of Jimmy Hoffa. However, he is routinely bothered by a cacophony of voices which only he can hear.

Bruce uses his powers to gain the reputation "Mr. Exclusive" by causing exciting news, such as a meteor impact, to occur whenever he is reporting. He also forces Evan to humiliate himself on air, and Evan is removed as anchor in favor of Bruce. Bruce takes Grace to dinner to tell her this, and Grace is disappointed as she was expecting him to propose. As Bruce is once again overwhelmed by voices, God appears to Him and tells Bruce the voices are prayers, and will continue to build up if not answered. He also confronts Bruce on using his powers for personal gain and not helping people. Reading the prayers in the form of e-mails, Bruce attempts to answer them individually, but discovers he is receiving prayers faster than he can respond. Bruce decides to set his e-mail account to automatically answer "yes" to all prayers, assuming this will make everyone happy.

At a party to celebrate his promotion, Bruce attempts to call Grace to get her to come but she doesn't pick up. However, when Grace arrives, Bruce is then seduced by Susan who passionately kisses him. Grace witnesses this and leaves him. Bruce tries to use his powers to win her back but cannot, as he is not allowed to interfere with free will. Bruce finds that his abuse of his powers have consequences: some people take the meteor impact and other phenomena as signs of the apocalypse while others are outraged over thousands winning the lottery- resulting in each person only winning around $17-, and a riot breaks out in the city. Brought before God again, Bruce protests that he only gave people what they wanted, and God tells Bruce that people need to stop looking to Him for answers. Bruce begins to solve the problems in his life practically, and helps people personally, such as a homeless man who has appeared to him at times holding philosophical signs. That evening, Bruce decides to look at the prayers Grace has sent and discovers she continually prayed for his success and well-being. As a new prayer begins to arrive, Bruce goes to witness Grace praying in person, and hears her wishing to not be in love with him anymore so she will stop hurting.

Depressed, Bruce walks on to a highway and submits to God, asking Him to take back His powers and trusting Him with his (Bruce) fate. Bruce is suddenly struck by a truck and is brought before God in a white void. God asks Bruce what he really wants, and assuming he is dead, Bruce asks that Grace find a man who may make her truly happy and see her through God's eyes, even if it is not Bruce. God agrees and revives Bruce, who wakes up in the hospital to be told "someone up there" favors him. Bruce and Grace reconcile and become engaged, and Bruce gives Evan the anchor position back, going back to his old unglamorous stories and taking a new delight in them. The ending scene features a slow close-up of the homeless man, whose image morphs slightly and He is revealed to be God.

Cast

• Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan
• Morgan Freeman as God
• Jennifer Aniston as Grace Connelly
• Lisa Ann Walter as Debbie Connelly
• Philip Baker Hall as Jack Baylor
• Steve Carell as Evan Baxter
• Catherine Bell as Susan Ortega
• Sally Kirkland as Anita Mann
• Nora Dunn as Ally Loman
• Eddie Jemison as Bobby
• Tony Bennett as Himself
• Madeline Lovejoy as Zoe
• Micah Stephen Williams as Boy on bike

Reception

The movie received mixed reviews with a score of 49% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 181 reviews and a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 on Metacritic. It received a B rating at Box Office Mojo and a score of 6.5 on Internet Movie Database. The film took nearly $243 million at the box office, making it Jim Carrey's most successful film since 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas (also released by Universal).

Mark Sells of The Reel Deal gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a slapstick comedy and at times, a sentimental drama. It is laugh out loud funny and yet, heartfelt."

Original Screenwriters Mark O'Keefe and Steve Koren wrote Bruce Almighty as an original spec script and put it on the open market. Universal studios immediately bought the original script. As with every major blockbuster, several sources came forward seeking post success credit.

Robert Bausch, the author of Almighty Me, contends that his book was the creative source for this film.

The movie was banned in Egypt and Malaysia due to pressure from Islamic religious circuits who objected to the portrayal of God as a visually ordinary man. The ban in Malaysia was eventually lifted after the Censorship Board gave it the "18PL" rating (suitable for adult viewers only for a combination of two or more of the given parental ratings). In Iran, the movie was interpreted in the light of Twelver Shiism—the predominant branch of Islam practiced in the country. The appearance of Morgan Freeman's character at the end echoes the prophesied return of the 12th Imam.

Telephone numbers

The film caused controversy because God contacts Bruce, via pager, using an actual number rather than a number in the standard fictional 555 telephone exchange. The original telephone number was 776-2323. No area code was included. Several people and groups sharing this number have received hundreds of phone calls from people wanting to talk to God. Some of the calls went to a church located in Sanford, North Carolina, whose pastor happened to be named Bruce. A church in Georgia also happens to use this number. This was also the cellphone number of the pastor of a church in Mercer, Wisconsin. The number even turned out to be valid in Greater Manchester in England.

The producers noted that the number chosen was not in use in the Buffalo, New York (area code 716) area wherein the film is set, but did not check anywhere else. The DVD and television versions changed the display of the pager to 555-0123. In some closed captions, the original line is left in the film, but it is dubbed out in the audio.

Related films

On June 22, 2007, a sequel to Bruce Almighty entitled Evan Almighty was released, with Steve Carell returning to his role as Evan Baxter and Morgan Freeman returning to his role as God. Although Bruce Almighty director Tom Shadyac returned to direct the sequel, neither Jim Carrey nor Jennifer Aniston was involved with the film, though Carrey's character, Bruce, is mentioned in the new film's teaser trailer. The sequel was not as well received as the predecessor, being given a 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 37/100 on MetaCritic.

The 2008 Hindi film God Tussi Great Ho is an adaptation of Bruce Almighty and almost every aspect of the original is used. The film stars Salman Khan as the protagonist and Amitabh Bachchan as God.

The 2009 Malayalam film Angel John was also an adaptation of Bruce Almighty. The film stars Mohanlal as the God and Shanthnoo Bhagyaraj as the protagonist.

Another Tamil film, Arai En 305-il Kadavul, which stars Santhanam as the protagonist and Prakash Raj as God, incorporates several story elements from Bruce Almighty. One exception is that, in the Tamil film, the protagonist steals God's powers rather than being gifted with them.

Soundtrack

Untitled

Tracklist

1. "One of Us" - Joan Osborne
2. "God-Shaped-Hole" - Plumb
3. "You're a God" - Vertical Horizon
4. "The Power" - Snap!
5. "A Little Less Conversation" - Elvis vs. JXL
6. "The Rockafeller Skank" - Fatboy Slim
7. "God Gave Me Everything" - Mick Jagger featuring Lenny Kravitz
8. "AB Positive"
9. "Walking on Water"
10. "Seventh at Seven"
11. "Bruce Meets God"
12. "Bruce's Prayer"
13. "Grace's Prayer"
14. "God's Prayer"

Tracks 9-14 are from the score composed by John Debney, performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony (conducted by Pete Anthony) with Brad Dechter and Sandy De Crescent.

External links

• Official website
• Bruce Almighty at IMDb
• Template:Amg movie
• Bruce Almighty at Rotten Tomatoes
• Bruce Almighty at Box Office Mojo