Movie Review: Evan Almighty

This originally appeared in the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald.

Genesis 6:14 – So make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.

When references to this Biblical verse start to creep into Evan Baxter’s life, he begins to think that there is something odd going on. When the wood and tools for an ark are delivered to his family’s new house, he knows there’s something up. The visit from God, well, that was the icing on the cake.

“Evan Almighty” is the sequel to Jim Carey’s 2003 comedy “Bruce Almighty”. Steve Carell reprises his role as newscaster Evan Baxter. In the first moments of the movie, we find out that Evan has been elected to the U.S. Congress. So, it’s off to Washington, D.C., for Evan, his wife (Gilmore Girl Lauren Graham), and three sons.

While it may be a bit clichéd for movies of this structure, we soon realize that Evan’s family life is not perfect. During his recent run for Congress, it appears as though Evan’s relationship with his sons and wife has taken a back-burner. But, this new move has come with the promise of more family time, starting with a family hike in the beautiful countryside of Prestige Crest, the brand new housing development that they’ve moved into. Unfortunately, career advancement rears its ugly head on Evan’s first day on the job, when he is asked to be junior sponsor on a bill that senior Congressman Long (John Goodman) wants to move through during this session.

If that wasn’t enough, Evan receives a visit from God (Morgan Freeman, reprising his role). Much to Evan’s surprise, God asks him to build an ark, for there is a flood coming. Of course, Evan finds this quite difficult to believe. But, over the course of the next couple of days, a number of things happen that will either drive Evan crazy, or convince him that God actually does want him to build an ark.

To be honest, the plot and execution of this script are mundane, at best. I can’t say that I was truly surprised by anything that happened. We’ve seen the family problems in a hundred other movies. And the idea of God coming down and talking to the common man? We’ve seen that, as well. So, why did I like this movie? Steve Carell is a huge part of that. His comedic timing, his physical comedy mixed with dry wit, it’s all just so irresistible. I truly enjoyed watching him on-screen. The cast of supporting actors is also to be commended. From Evan’s congressional staffers to John Goodman’s turn as a money-grubbing politician, they are all quite enjoyable.

This movie is the definition of a “feel good movie”. The movie brought a genuine smile to my face by the end, beyond the laughing that I was doing the rest of the time. Ignoring the knock across the head received from the environmental issues, it’s a movie about what is truly important in life, though most people won’t have to build an ark to find them.

The Grand Plan

Okay, I realize that I need to start this whole blogging thing again. I've decided to do a couple of things: try and post more, and post a movie review at least once a week. The reviews could be reviews of previously released movies, or new releases, depends on what I feel like doing that week. I've been wanting to get back to it for a while, so here goes.

Mass Effect Over-Reaction

http://youtube.com/watch?v=L13Ct40cFIU&feature=related

I actually couldn't believe what I was watching. I had heard about the controversy over Fox's coverage of a brief sex scene in the game Mass Effect, but I hadn't actually watched the segment in question. But, then I saw this segment that Adam Sessler did for X-Play, and I knew I had to finally see it for myself.

Oh... My... God.

I thought I had seen some closed-minded talk about video games in the past (read: anything with the name Jack Thompson) but this segment truly takes the cake. Let's look at the fact that, by both the host's and Ms. Lawrence's own admissions, they have never played the game. In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that the host actually spent more time researching the game in the few minutes she spent on the web looking at trailers for the game than Ms. Lawrence did, and she was the one who was forming the opinion. As a side note, I found it amusing that the host was amazed that none of the trailers said anything about the rampant sex involved in the game. It shows that a) Microsoft was not marketing the sex in the game and b) it takes up such a minute part of the game that they didn't feel it was necessary to point it out. I guess I will, too, develop the same opinion of Ms. Lawrence's book, The Cult of Perfection, based solely on the front cover, and the title of the book.

I feel very sorry for Geoff Keighly, a person whom I have a great deal of respect in the video game industry. He was the sole voice of reason in the entire discussion, and he was constantly cut-off and patronized by both the host and Ms. Lawrence. It was quite obvious that the host, instead of being an impartial mediator presenting both sides of a story, had already developed an incorrect opinion in line with Ms. Lawrence. Any time that Geoff tried to bring up the fact that the sex scene lasted a fraction of the time of the game, or that it was actually the product of extensive character development, and not just a "have sex" option in the game, he was constantly interrupted and belittled by the other's in the conversation.

Once again, Fox News Channel shows their obvious conservative bias, and continues to bring shame to the cable news community. With news outlets like this, who needs the government to spin everything?

3:00 AM

Ok, it's 3 in the morning, and I can't seem to get to sleep. Might have something to do with the fact that I took a 4-hour nap this afternoon, I don't know.

This past week has been a long, weird, stressful week. I'm glad that I am able to be here for my family, though. If I had to stay at home and not know what was going on, or be able to actually talk face-to-face with people, I think I'd probably explode.

I'm trying to get back into composition. The problem here is that I have so many potential compositions going on in my brain at once, it's hard to concentrate long enough to get one of them down en total before another one rears its head and begs to be written down. I guess maybe I should try and work on a couple of them at the same time, spending a little time on one, and then switching to another one for a bit. That might work.

I've got a Gloria in my head that I want to get down. And then there is a cantata based on the classic comedy sketch "Who's On First" by Abbott and Costello (no, really!). The idea came from a P.D.Q. Bach piece that we did in choir one year. And then there is the series of pieces that I've wanted to do now based on the Psalms in the Bible. It's sort of a personal challenge, to write a short choral/solo/instrumental piece based on all 150 contained in the Book of Psalms. Well, we'll see what actually gets accomplished first.

Ok, I really need to at least attempt to get some sleep.