Bruce and Evan Almighty Movie Review

Last weekend, I saw the movie "Evan Almighty" in the theater. While the critics were harsh on it, I thought it was very good, containing some hard-hitting truths about life and the way God works.

In "Bruce Almighty", Jim Carrey is a reporter whose career isn't turning out the way he'd hoped. Steve Carrell ultimately lands the anchor role he thought was his, and he is fired for his reaction to this news. Despite the love of a good woman (Jennifer Aniston), he is furious with God. He mocks God mercilessly, blames him for his troubles, and says he could do the job much better than God. So, as God has been known to do, He (Morgan Freeman) takes Bruce at his word, goes on vacation, and turns the world over to him. Bruce learns that being God isn't nearly as easy as he thought, that just because someone prays for something doesn't mean it's the right thing for them to have, and that neither true romantic love nor respect and worship toward God can be forced, rushed, or faked. After nearly losing his lover and his life, Bruce finally figures it all out. Eventually, he learns the right lessons and his life, the very good life God always meant for him to have, the most fulfilling life, is given back to him by God. The big lessons here that I think God is trying to teach are: 1.) appreciation for the blessings we have; 2.) an instruction to take a look around to see what we can learn from where we are; 3.) that being God is not nearly as easy as we might sometimes imagine; and 4.) that living focused only on ourselves might be fun for a while, but it doesn't take us anywhere we want to be or where God wants us to be.

In "Evan Almighty", Steve Carrell parlays his anchor job into a seat in Congress. He moves his family to a huge new home, and he thinks he has really arrived. Evan's biggest problem until God shows up is a credibility problem. Between his journalism career and running for Congress, he's broken so many plans with his family that, while they still love him, they don't believe anything he says anymore. In the middle of all this, God shows up and tells him He has a mission for Evan, a crazy mission that no one would want, that no one in the world would believe if he told them about it, and one that would subject him to scorn and ridicule. Evan spends most of the movie trying to run from God's plan for him, but he ultimately goes along with it. Going along with God's plan nearly cost him his family, sent him into temporary financial ruin, made him a laughingstock of everyone who knew and supported him, BUT it ultimately saved his life, restored his family, and exposed massive corruption in Congress. I think my favorite line in the movie is when Evan is talking to God, and he says rather indignantly, "I had these plans!...", and God cuts him off in a fit of hysterical laughter, and says, "Plans?! That's a good one." A close second is when Evan is still trying to run from God, and God says to him, "Son, how long are you going to keep this up?".

I really feel that's how God sees us sometimes. He wants so badly to bless us beyond anything we can imagine...His word even says so. But here we are, trying our own schemes to get what we think we want, following our own plans to fill our needs, and God sits in heaven lovingly shaking His head, waiting for us to turn to Him, to come around, and to reap the joy of everything He wants to do for us. He never promises it will be easy. In fact, much as with Evan and Bruce, getting where God wants us to be will probably be harder than anything we've ever done. Worse still, in the short term, if most of us had any idea just how hard that road would be, we wouldn't begin to try to walk it, even if we could see the blessings God has for us waiting at the end. Some of the things I have experienced in my journey to God, I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy and sometimes wish I could blot them from my memory. That said, I wouldn't trade them for anything, because they're all part of the tapestry of my life that God and I are weaving together. I don't know exactly what the final picture will look like or what all the answers will be...I just know that the One I am following will look back on it at the end and pronounce my life good, and me his servant with whom He is well pleased.

I won't buy a movie unless I can watch it repeatedly and not get tired of it, and I'm buying both of these. Now, shoo, off with you, go see those movies...they're worth it.