Evan Almighty (2007)

Director:

Tom Shadyac

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

22 June 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

A comedy of biblical proportions

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

God | Ark | Congressman | Change | Flood

Awards:

1 win & 10 nominations

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)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild rude humor and some peril.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Much of the concept of this script and the amazing ArkAlmighty.com project it resulted in is based on the work of author and church planter, Steve Sjogren. At the time the screenwriters were fascinated with Sjogren's book, "Conspiracy of Kindness." At he end of the film Sjogren is mentioned as a creative consultant in the credits.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the flood Baxter's staff appears and disappears from scene to scene. In general any view from the front shows him without the staff, while any view from behind shows him with the staff.

Quotes:

Rita: [after Eugene has said too much] Can I tase him?

Movie Connections:

References "The Daily Show" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Have You Ever Seen the Rain

Not Almighty, but quite All-righty!

Steve Carell returns as prissy newsreader Evan Baxter, a little less mean-spirited this time around unlike his previous small turn in 'Bruce Almighty'. Of course, Carell was up and coming then but as his box-office success shows, the character responsible for arguably the only really funny scene in 'Bruce Almighty' deserves a film of his own. Shadayac and co. have approached it with a novel (if potentially expensive idea) to make God (Morgan Freeman) appear this time to instruct Baxter to build an Arc and, as Noah did before him, load it full of animals to protect them from an for an oncoming flood. It's an idea that's very entertaining, even if the jokes are less easy than the previous premise. Evan's transformation of appearance and being pursued by eager animals are the main areas of humour here, which means at times the film is thin on the ground. Sentiment comes in the form of Evan's neglect of his family; the audience will know exactly where this will be going, but fortunately the sentiment isn't as annoying as you might believe. It's also very much a family affair, the humour and the language very much for family audiences. Disappointingly, Shadayac, responsible for bringing out two of Jim Carrey's worst performances (namely 'Liar Liar' and 'Bruce Almighty') by letting Carrey overdo it by seemingly telling him to do the whole thing as an impression of William Shatner, mistakenly this time opts to take Carell down a notch. Carell's trademark hysteria and bizarre reactions are in short supply and we have an all together calmer 'Little Miss Sunshine'-esquire turn, which also means the film loses some of it's potential in this instance. Wanda Sykes and co. are merely stock characters needing better dialogue. Does this make it a bad film? Not at all. It's religious tie-ins (if rushed) are quite smart and it's very well directed visually with a great use of music and keeping a steady pace. It is what's on the label, but with a jaw-droppingly impressive final act which will really take you by surprise and could be up there as one of the sights of the summer! You could do a lot worse than enjoy 100 minutes of easy-going fun but if it's a laugh-out-loud roller-coaster you want, you will leave short-changed!