ruce Nolan (Carrey) is having a really bad day. The worst day of his life, actually.
Nolan has a great apartment, a good job, a nice if incontinent dog and a beautiful, smart and caring girlfriend, Grace (Aniston). But the Buffalo, N.Y., TV newsman is deeply unsatisfied with his happy-talk assignments (the biggest cookie in town) and yearns to become an anchorman like his idol, Walter Cronkite.
So when he learns that archrival Evan Baxter (Steven Carell) has won the coveted anchor slot, Nolan melts down live on TV from Niagara Falls.
That gets him fired and thrown out of the TV station. Then, as he tries to rescue a homeless man under attack by a gang of thugs, Bruce finds himself the target of a beating. Back at home, he rejects Grace's attempts to mollify him. "I am a victim," he yells. "God is a mean kid with a magnifying glass and an anthill. I'm the ant."
Driving in the rain, he smashes up his car. He rails against god, demanding a sign. "Fine! The gloves are off! Smite me, oh mighty Smiter!"
But the next morning, when he gets a mysterious page on his beeper, he's surprised to be summoned to a virtually empty office building downtown, with a sign that reads "Omni Presents, Inc." There, he meets an enigmatic man in a white suit (Freeman) who seems to know all about him. "I am the One," he tells Bruce. "I am God."
He has an offer for Bruce. You're unhappy with my work, he says. So if you think you can do better, here's your chance.
Before he knows it, Bruce has all the powers of the deity, with two conditions: he can't tell anyone he's God, and he can't mess with free will.
Alll-mighty, then!
Bruce Almighty is from the director and star of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Liar, Liar and similarly exploits Carrey's well-worn manic shtick in service of a treacly story—in this case, a romance with one of America's best Friends, Aniston. With an intriguing premise, some nifty visual effects and Carrey's trademark funny business—not to mention Freeman's familiar, buttery gravitas—Bruce evokes a fair number of chuckles, but is ultimately too bland to make much of an impression.
As tides follow the moon, Bruce rises and falls ultimately on Carrey's performance, and it's not his best work. In early domestic scenes with Aniston or the lame news segments with his co-workers, it feels as if he's reining himself in. In scenes where he rails at God or exercises his newfound powers, it feels as if he's straining for the antic high. In both cases, Carrey doesn't quite make it. Anyone familiar with the Carrey of Ace Ventura, The Truman Show or even The Cable Guy knows that Carrey can excel at both serious drama and over-the-top zaniness. But in Bruce, he resolutely swings for the middle of his range, and his performance feels adequate, even polished, but not much more.
The same may be said of the entire production. Aniston jettisons most of her Rachel mannerisms and even achieves a moment of pathos, but is otherwise ill used. Too bad, as anyone knows who has seen The Good Girl or even Office Space: Aniston is capable of a lot more. Ditto Freeman, though it's a relief that he doesn't chew the scenery like he did in Dreamcatcher.
As for the story, it self-consciously inverts It's a Wonderful Life—there's even a clip of that beloved Frank Capra film—but it fails to achieve the same resonance. And while there's a lot to laugh at—especially a bit involving a thug and a monkey and a nattering newsman—there isn't anything to make an audience member see God.
