Evan Almighty

Tom Shadyac's Evan Almighty proceeds at a fast pace. Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) is elected to Congress, moves his family to Huntsville, and is visited by God who tasks him with building an Ark. While trying to deal with his new job, Evan takes God's suggestions lightly until his beard grows in permanently and several bird species roost. Evan's boss, Congressman Long (John Goodman), is dedicated to passing Bill HR7124 which hopes to open up public Parklands for private development (and he shines none to brightly to Evan's change of pace). Unfortunately, neither does Steve Carell and he's left spending most of his screen-time in a stressed out state where his character isn't given much room to develop. At the same time, as he begins to come to grips with being a Noahesque avatar, we are treated to a couple of lighthearted biblical moments which allow Carell's charm to come through. The same one-dimensional direction allows neither John Goodman nor Evan's wife Joan (Lauren Graham) much room for development, however, minor characters played by Wanda Sykes, John Michael Higgins, Jonah Hill and Morgan Freeman prosper comedically within.

My favourite scenes within Evan Almighty feature creatures of the four legged variety and if you're an animal enthusiast it doesn't disappoint. I was worried that the bear representation would be weak but we are treated to scenes with Polar, Panda, Black, and Grizzly Bears, the Grizzlies being the last of Evan's animals to enter his Ark. The cutesy animal scenes do little to elucidate the dangerous nature of many of these beasts, but they do provide Evan with enough domestic appeal to make it an excellent family film. Further, its overall meaning is cloaked in positive communal sentiments that challenge one to be a kinder, more loving human being; a friendly message with a healthy heart.