by kellie abrahamson kabrahamson1@aol.com
I like Steve Carell. My husband and I are dedicated fans of The Office, I’ve seen The 40 Year-Old Virgin twice and I’m of the opinion that The Daily Show was a million times better when he was on it. That said, I try to give Steve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his movies. Evan Almighty definitely tested my faith. The film is now available on DVD.
Anchorman Evan Baxter (Carell) was last seen babbling nonsense live on the air in Bruce Almighty. My how things have changed! Having secured a spot as a congressman, Evan and his family are moving on and moving up, starting a whole new life in Washington DC. His first day on Capitol Hill fast approaching, Evan turns to God for help executing his campaign promise to change the world and God heard him loud and clear. It soon becomes apparent to Evan that the good Lord is trying to tell him something too, first with a shipment of lumber and old-school tools, then with the persistent appearance of the number 614 (as in Genesis 6:14). It isn’t until God (Morgan Freeman) Himself appears before Evan that he actually comprehends these not-so-subtle clues: a flood is coming and Evan is to make like Noah and build an ark.
By all accounts Evan Almighty was a God-forsaken flop at the box office. With a monster budget of $175 million, making it the most expensive comedy ever made, the film made a disappointing $147 million worldwide. Critics panned the sequel, which scored a depressing 24% rotten on RottenTomatoes.com.
Given the sheer quantity of extras, it’s pretty safe to assume this release is the definitive Evan Almighty DVD, no double-dipping here. First up are 14 deleted or extended scenes, none of which are particularly funny or helpful to the plot. Next are a series of what is labeled as outtakes but are more accurately described as ad-libbed lines- mostly Steve Carell trying out different reactions to hitting his thumb with a hammer. Things get more interesting with “The Ark-itechs of Noah’s Ark,” a 6-minute featurette about the making of the various ark sets. “Becoming Noah” is another 6-minute long short. This one covers the extensive makeup Carell endured each day to transform into Evan Baxter.
In “Steve Carell Unscripted” the funnyman does what he does best: acts a fool, only this time its off-camera. The silliness only lasts 3-minutes and that’s about 2-minutes too long since it’s mostly a montage of exaggerated grunts in response to bird poo. Speaking of which, “Animals on the Set Two by Two” is the longest featurette on the disc, clocking in at around 13-minutes. Here we learn the film had the most animals in showbiz history with just over 200 different species. The cast talks about their thrilling experiences and the not-so-fun aspects of working with critters, all while praising the trainers for their hard work. Younger kids will enjoy the disc’s “Animal Roundup Game,” a three-round matching and trivia challenge. Some of the questions are a little tricky, so this is probably one to do as a family. My favorite extras are next because they really helped redeem the entire film in my eyes.
“The Almighty Green Set” focuses on how director Tom Shadyac really committed to making a “green” film. The materials used to make the ark and even some of the houses were donated to Habitat for Humanity and the cast and crew got bicycles so they could bike to the set instead of taking cars. Best of all, the filmmakers calculated the carbon emissions used to fly the cast and crew to their Virginia location and planted 2000 trees to offset the damage. “It’s Easy Being Green” gives viewers tips on how they too can reduce their carbon footprint. Other extras include a look at how the final flood visual effects were created, a humorous GE commercial, a listing of people who donated funds to plant an additional 15,000 trees and “Acts of Random Kindness,” a 2-minute smattering of stories of kindness from the cast.
Evan Almighty is cutesy and innocuous and completely dull. The film takes the coward’s way out, relying purely on jokes about bird poop and alpaca spit to get laughs instead of taking risks like its predecessor. Sure, Morgan Freeman is back again as God and Steve Carell is practically the new Jim Carrey, but the script is so one-note and boring its hard to believe this film is in any way related to Bruce Almighty. Families looking for good, clean fun will get one out of the three: it is clean. But the laugh-an-hour comedy will probably put most over the age of 12 to sleep; leaving those young enough to think feces is comedy gold to fend for themselves.
I like Steve Carell. I think he’s a very funny man with a bright future in comedy. Evan Almighty doesn’t help build my case. The extremely curious, die-hard fans will most likely rent this DVD regardless of how terrible the reviews were or how disappointed I was and I can respect that. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
