I watched Evan Almighty just recently. I wasn't expecting much. Just some goofy Steve Carell, I guess. Some good Morgan Freeman as God, maybe. 'Though I was pretty sure Alanis Morissette had the God-act down long before him.

The Buffalo gags take on another dimension to a native son daughter. And, like Bruce Almighty, homage was again paid to Capra, this time, in the form of allusions to his Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: the dirty land deals around the dam and lots of shots of the Lincoln Memorial. Jeff thinks the birds, the pigeons, are a stretch. You know, that Smith brings pigeons to D.C. But then, Smith knows those bird calls as well. He's a real nature lover, that Boy Ranger. Evan starts out not especially liking animals at all. He also starts out fainting, just like Smith.

The Gen. 6:14 gag was overused. I expected the alarm to sound in the dresser drawer as the beeper did in the street.

Jeff saw the part when Evan receives his new license plates. Jeff asked, "Genesee County?" An inside joke because about fifteen years ago, most plates in that county started with "GEN" followed by three digits.

There was a plug for evolution, I thought, when Evan shares a drink with some baboons or something. Or maybe it was simply a statement about Carell's personal affinity. Or the fact that Evan likes animals now.

Bruce Almighty was funnier, I think. Carrey plays haughty better than humble and Carell is the opposite. So, neither of them nailed the full range of getting right with God.

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Previous posts on Capra's Mr. Smith worth reading (seriously):

March 2006
February 2006

tags technorati : evan almighty