Posted by Helen on: 06.25.2007 /
We went to see Evan Almighty yesterday afternoon. I enjoyed it.
The name indicates it’s a sequel to Bruce Almighty. God’s interactions with Evan and Bruce are somewhat different though. In Bruce Almighty Bruce challenges God and God responds by saying “Ok, let’s see how you would do at my job” and gives Bruce all his powers. In Evan Almighty Evan doesn’t challenge God. He asks God to help him change the world and God says “Ok, build an ark for me”.
This movie comes about as close as anything I’ve seen to depicting the way God interacts with people in the Bible. God shows up unexpectedly and asks people to do things he says are important, which tend to be unusual and extremely inconvenient. It would be nice if God also appeared to the family and friends of those people and said “Yes, I really did tell them to do this!” But God often chooses not to do that, leaving the people the challenge of convincing others they are not crazy but rather are doing what God asked them to do.
We see Evan’s point of view in the movie. We see everything God is doing to get Evan to build the ark and then we see Evan struggling with the reactions of people who come up with a variety of ideas why he’s doing what he’s doing, none of which are that God actually told him to do it.
One of the people God chooses not to show up and tell Evan’s wife “Hey, I’m God - Evan is telling the truth”. As Christianity Today points out, the script of the movie doesn’t help a great deal. Nevertheless, visually and in the way things unfold, the hurt and confusion Evan’s behavior causes his wife is well portrayed. Evan is directly challenged by God to build the ark. Evan’s wife is indirectly challenged by God: what will she do about having a husband who is the laughing stock of the community? Again, it seems in line with how things unfold in the Bible that when one person is challenged to do something radical for God, the people who are part of their lives are also challenged - how will they respond to that person? Will they help them or try to dissuade them?
I really like how Morgan Freeman portrays God in both Evan Almighty and Bruce Almighty. Rarely (if ever) has God been portrayed with such a great sense of humor. At least in Christian circles (Jewish discussions about God seem to include more humor than Christian ones, in my experience). Morgan Freeman’s God doesn’t care about the superficial things Evan cares about but he clearly cares a lot about Evan. He teases Evan but not unkindly. And there is a day when, without saying who he is, he offers a kind word of encouragement to Evan’s wife.
I like that this is a movie about people changing their values. Evan is not a terrible person at the outset - unlike Bruce he is not horrendously selfish and insensitive to others around him. It’s more that he’s a person without strong enough values of his own. He is well-intentioned but is too quick to let others tell him how to spend his time and what to care about. As the movie proceeds he finds his own values and voice and in the end at least some people respect him for that.
Comment by: Paul
1thanks helen, i’m looking forward to catching the film when it finally opens over here :)
I liked bruce almighty, it’s thoughts on free will and prayer amongst other things were profound for me :)
Comment by: Helen
2Thanks Paul. I don’t think this movie goes as deep into those philosophical questions, but I do think it presents interesting ones about what being a radical follower does to a person’s life. This is a worldview in which God doesn’t provide all the answers or make everything go smoothly.
Which seems quite realistic to me as a general portrayal of the life of a believer, even though I don’t know anyone that God appeared to in human form and said ‘build an ark for me’.
Comment by: David H
3The Bible has a few examples of those inconvenient and inexplicable orders from on high. The marriage of Hosea and Gomer has provided lots of fodder in some Christian circles because Hosea was told to marry a prostitute and to stay with/forgive her when she was unfaithful. The Prophet Ezekiel was told to lie on his side for 430 days. Try explaining that to your wife.
Funny story about “Bruce Almighty.” I watched it with my daughters (7 and 10 at the time of viewing). They both loved the movie, but the line my youngest remembered most was what Bruce said while signing off from his wildcast on the Maid of the Mist.
My daughter liked it so much that she had to repeat it. So, movie ends, credits roll and she shouts (in her best newscaster voice):”I’m Bruce Nolan for Eyewitness News. Back to you, f***ers!”
Let’s just say that was an entree to a teachable moment in our household.
We are all looking forward to viewing “Evan Almighty.” I’m just wondering if it will have any memorable lines.
Comment by: Laura M.
4Bruce Almighty was hilarious and my daughter and I both also love that “back to you ..” line.
The previews for Evan look good and I’m looking forward to seeing it. It reminds me of a question I asked not too long ago about how we are supposed to know what God wants us to do .
Does Evan know why God wants him to build the ark?
Comment by: Helen
5David, I doubt there will be any ‘memorable’ lines like that one ;-). It’s pitched as much more of a family movie than Bruce Almighty. I don’t recall any ‘language’ in it. It might lead to teachable moments - I think the themes could lead to interesting discussions - but probably not the same sort of teachable moment as Bruce Almighty!
Laura, yes, I thought Bruce Almighty was hilarious too, mostly because I think Jim Carrey is funny (although I don’t think he has much flexibility in how he is funny).
Evan is a less exaggerated character Bruce or than Steve Carell plays in other roles such as in The Office. He’s more funny-goofy than funny-exaggerated like Jim Carrey or Will Ferrell.
As I recall God did tell Evan it was because a flood was coming. So he had a reason but it was rather hard to believe - for the same reasons we’d find it hard to believe - he lives in 21st century America. It was hard enough to believe that he got ridiculed for believing it.
The reason God asked Evan in particular to do it was because Evan had prayed asking God to help him change the world. The way he prayed indicated praying wasn’t something he usually did. At the beginning of the movie Evan is someone swayed a lot by the opinion of others and it seems that he prayed mostly because his wife thought it would be a good idea.
Comment by: Laura M.
6It seems that Bruce and Evan have opposite personality issues?
So while Bruce was all about himself and didn’t spend too much time considering other people’s problems or opinions, Evan is a people pleaser who cares too much about others’ opinions ?
Sounds like he might be the type who carries the burden of guilt or responsibilty for everyone else’s problems on his shoulders, while neglecting to take care of himself.
Comment by: Helen
7Laura, I’d say Evan is different from Bruce but not opposite - he’s fickle and easily swayed, but his own interests are fairly high at the top of his list. Early in the movie he’s choosing career advancement opportunities over time with his family.
I don’t get the sense that pre-ark Evan loses any sleep over anyone else’s problems. He seems like one of those people who have an image of themselves as good caring people, but haven’t realized that sometimes the thought doesn’t count!
I’d be interested if you agree once you’ve seen it - I know it’s not really fair for you to guess simply based on my comments.
Comment by: Kathleen
8I’ve been looking forward to seeing this, but haven’t gotten a chance yet. Is there any background on the flood? Is it the same story as that of the Biblical flood - that people have become too sinful, and God is wiping them out to start over? That seems a little heavy for the background of a movie that billed as comedic and family-friendly.
Comment by: Laura M.
9I love that Helen! Did you make that up? I’ve never heard that before: “sometimes the thought doesn’t count.”
Comment by: Helen
10Kathleen, without telling too much of the story (for the sake of those who want to see it and didn’t go yet) - they somewhat reframe it. As you said, if they didn’t then it’s hard to see how it would be comedic and family-friendly.
Laura, I say that often. I’m not sure whether I thought of it myself or heard someone else say it and then adopted it!
Comment by: helen
11helen, i’m really looking forward to seeing this movie even more now(just have to find that elusive sitter, ack). i, too, liked how God was written and Freeman played him in ‘Bruce Almighty’ - the sense of humor being a big part of it. I remember realizing that Jesus must have laughed a lot going to all those dinners and parties and sitting around all those fires with his disciples. anyway, thanks for the review!