Evan Almighty
Evan Almighty is one zebra short of an arc.
Review by Sirus

Like “Bruce Almighty” before it, “Evan Almighty” uses a blend of comedy and religion to engage the audience. “Evan Almighty” tells the story of a small town news anchor named Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) who finds himself elected to congress. All things seem to be going well for Evan. He has a new house, a new car, and moves into a nice neighborhood his family finds hard to get used to. Soon after moving into his new house, Evan gets a visit from God (Morgan Freeman). God tells Evan that he wants him to build an ark to save the world from a flood. Like any person would react when presented with such a proposal, Evan doesn’t want to believe that what he is hearing is true. He does everything in his power to resist his job. God sends messages to Evan, but slowly so as not to stack everything on all at once. Eventually Evan gives in to God’s request and starts building his ark, even though he faces massive resistance from everyone around him. The movie stays interesting until the end and the finale is epic enough that it fits nicely.

As a comedy by itself, “Evan Almighty” isn’t the most hilarious of the bunch. While I enjoyed myself, a good part of enjoying this movie comes from a love for the story of Noah and his ark. Without an appreciation for the source material, some viewers might find themselves a little bored by the pacing. Still, Steve Carell and Wanda Sykes (who plays Evan’s assistant) keep the movie amusing enough even when it’s obviously trying to be serious. As a huge fan of Wanda Sykes myself, I greatly enjoyed her performance in the movie. At first it seems quite strange that the filmmakers would want to mix the story of Noah’s Ark with politicians but by the end it is evident that they had a strong reason for the decision. If you are interested in politics and have a soft place in your heart for the story of Noah’s Ark, you can find a good level of enjoyment from “Evan Almighty” as long as you are able to believe the image of God they present at least for the duration of the movie. When “Bruce Almighty” came out, it was a unique premise that worked perfectly and even though many are already familiar with the formula, it still works in “Evan Almighty” enough that it is worth watching.

Final Score: 3.5/5