A whiny news reporter is given the chance to step into God's shoes.A whiny news reporter is given the chance to step into God's shoes.A whiny news reporter is given the chance to step into God's shoes.
- Awards
- 7 wins & 9 nominations
Steve Carell
- Evan Baxter
- (as Steven Carell)
Timothy Di Pri
- Bruce's Cameraman
- (as Timothy DiPri)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaInstead of having the usual 555 prefix used in movies and television, a phone number used by God (Morgan Freeman) was an actual phone number in many U.S. area codes, causing owners of that phone number to be bombarded with calls. For the video release, this number was changed to 555-0123. The phone number used by Bruce later in the film was used by a radio station in Colorado and a woman in Florida, both of whom were deluged with calls wanting to talk with God. The producers bought these two phone numbers used in the film to stop the problems.
- Goofs(at around 15 mins) When Bruce is sent to Niagara Falls to report, he starts by saying that he is reporting from Niagara Falls, New York. The view is obviously from the Canadian side of the Falls.
- Quotes
God: Parting your soup is not a miracle, Bruce. It's a magic trick. A single mom who's working two jobs and still finds time to take her kid to soccer practice, that's a miracle. A teenager who says "no" to drugs and "yes" to an education, that's a miracle. People want me to do everything for them. But what they don't realize is THEY have the power. You want to see a miracle, son? Be the miracle.
- Crazy creditsThere are several outtakes and goofs from the movie during the ending credits.
- Alternate versionsUniversal Studios released a Family Friendly version on DVD that removes objectionable content. This version has a blue border on the DVD cover.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: Bruce Almighty/The In-Laws/Our Town (2003)
Featured review
Even God thinks Jim Carrey is God's gift to comedy in this repulsive effort
Whenever I watch Jim Carrey I get the feeling he's grabbing me by the collar, slamming his face into mine and screaming, "Laugh at me! Laugh at me, goddammit, laugh!" His efforts to be funny seem so desperate and sweaty, yet for many people it works. For instance, the DVD for this movie includes an outtake where Carrey improvises with baking utensils. Director Tom Shadyac cites this as an example of Carrey's genius, but it reminded me of another exhausting comic, Carrot Top.
Even without Carrey, the premise of "Bruce Almighty" would be charmless. Bruce Nolan (Carrey) is a Buffalo newscaster assigned to featherweight stories like the creation of the world's largest cookie. When the anchorman at his station retires, he feels he has a good chance to get promoted to the job. Instead, it goes to his loathed rival Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), a fact that he learns while doing a live report from Niagara Falls. This results in a bitter on-air hissy fit in which he insults a little old lady on a tour boat and delivers the f-word right to the camera. Naturally, he's fired. This sets off a chain of events that climax with a group of thugs beating him and vandalizing his car. He blames God for this terrible run of bad luck. God, played by Morgan Freeman in a gleaming white suit, is inordinately angered and teaches Bruce a lesson by letting him take over the job of being the Almighty. Bruce uses these new powers to teach his dog how to use the toilet, give his girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) bigger breasts, return to his old job in a blaze of glory – and humiliate his rivals, especially Baxter.
The script makes a few feeble stabs at making Bruce seem other than the raging egomaniac and obnoxious jerk he clearly is. He helps a blind man at one point; he kinda-sorta answers some prayers. But he's mainly unsympathetic; and it seems horrific that God would give this man nearly unlimited powers just to get him to appreciate his girlfriend and learn a dubious theological lesson or two. What about all the other people affected by Bruce's antics? When Bruce inadvertently brings about tidal waves on the other side of the globe, we briefly see a TV news report showing the people harmed by this disaster. How many were killed?
God helpfully explains this favoritism near the end when he tells Bruce he has the gift of making people laugh. I would have said he has the ability to slam his fist down people's throats and rip out the laughs in bloody heaps.
Honestly, I thought Jerry Lewis was the ultimate comedian-narcissist, but not even Lewis had God fawn over his own genius; still less was there a God who let him bumble his way into destroying the lives of those who evidently aren't hilarious enough to receive special treatment.
This movie would have been so much more tolerable – for me, if not Carrey fans – if Bruce had been played by someone more likable. Just look at God Himself to see what casting can do. Morgan Freeman can tell us that a real miracle is when "a teenager says 'no' to drugs and 'yes' to an education" and make that crap sound like wisdom. In fact, what if the part of Bruce had been retooled for an elderly man so that Freeman could play *both* parts?
I know, I know. Jim Carrey is a huge box office draw, and Freeman is not. If the real God ever decides to exert himself over trivia, maybe he ought to look into that little injustice.
Even without Carrey, the premise of "Bruce Almighty" would be charmless. Bruce Nolan (Carrey) is a Buffalo newscaster assigned to featherweight stories like the creation of the world's largest cookie. When the anchorman at his station retires, he feels he has a good chance to get promoted to the job. Instead, it goes to his loathed rival Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), a fact that he learns while doing a live report from Niagara Falls. This results in a bitter on-air hissy fit in which he insults a little old lady on a tour boat and delivers the f-word right to the camera. Naturally, he's fired. This sets off a chain of events that climax with a group of thugs beating him and vandalizing his car. He blames God for this terrible run of bad luck. God, played by Morgan Freeman in a gleaming white suit, is inordinately angered and teaches Bruce a lesson by letting him take over the job of being the Almighty. Bruce uses these new powers to teach his dog how to use the toilet, give his girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) bigger breasts, return to his old job in a blaze of glory – and humiliate his rivals, especially Baxter.
The script makes a few feeble stabs at making Bruce seem other than the raging egomaniac and obnoxious jerk he clearly is. He helps a blind man at one point; he kinda-sorta answers some prayers. But he's mainly unsympathetic; and it seems horrific that God would give this man nearly unlimited powers just to get him to appreciate his girlfriend and learn a dubious theological lesson or two. What about all the other people affected by Bruce's antics? When Bruce inadvertently brings about tidal waves on the other side of the globe, we briefly see a TV news report showing the people harmed by this disaster. How many were killed?
God helpfully explains this favoritism near the end when he tells Bruce he has the gift of making people laugh. I would have said he has the ability to slam his fist down people's throats and rip out the laughs in bloody heaps.
Honestly, I thought Jerry Lewis was the ultimate comedian-narcissist, but not even Lewis had God fawn over his own genius; still less was there a God who let him bumble his way into destroying the lives of those who evidently aren't hilarious enough to receive special treatment.
This movie would have been so much more tolerable – for me, if not Carrey fans – if Bruce had been played by someone more likable. Just look at God Himself to see what casting can do. Morgan Freeman can tell us that a real miracle is when "a teenager says 'no' to drugs and 'yes' to an education" and make that crap sound like wisdom. In fact, what if the part of Bruce had been retooled for an elderly man so that Freeman could play *both* parts?
I know, I know. Jim Carrey is a huge box office draw, and Freeman is not. If the real God ever decides to exert himself over trivia, maybe he ought to look into that little injustice.
helpful•2822
- J. Spurlin
- Apr 13, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Một Ngày Làm Thượng Đế
- Filming locations
- Buffalo, New York, USA(establishing shots, aerial shots and visual effects plates)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $81,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $242,829,261
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $67,953,330
- May 25, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $484,592,874
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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