 September
2003
This month's review:
Seabiscuit
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Bruce Almighty
Summer Movies in 2003
Mattie: Hey Patty? I feel like going to a movie—haven’t
seen anything all summer. Can you recommend something?
Patty: Well, yes, I’ve seen a few movies this summer.
Mattie: What about Seabiscuit? I’ve heard
it’s really good. Have you seen that?
Patty: Yes. It’s decent and pleasant—but nothing
tremendously special.
Mattie: Really? I’ve heard good things about it.
Patty: The acting is really good, but the story is too
predictable. It’s a feel-good movie, but I found myself more
interested in the horse than in any of the characters. And the
swearing is really irritating. There’s absolutely no justification
for it.
Mattie: Hmm. What else have you seen?
Patty: Well, a friend recommended League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen, but I thought it was terrible—no
point or coherence at all, even if it did have Sean Connery in it.
It was a real struggle to stay awake. But there is one movie I can
recommend—Bruce Almighty. At least it’s worth seeing
and thinking about.
Mattie: Are you serious? I saw the previews of it and
thought it looked sacrilegious.
Patty: I did too. But I felt different after I saw it.
It’s really thought-provoking, especially for people of faith.
Mattie: How so?
Patty: Well, Jim Carrey plays Bruce, a TV reporter who
never gets any good stories and is passed over when an anchor
vacancy comes up. He’s really mad and does some speculating about
how he’d change things if he were God. Pretty soon he gets a
mysterious call on his cell phone telling him to come to an
abandoned warehouse. He does, and whom does he meet? God. He’s there
doing some janitorial work all by himself, which is a brilliant
touch that shows his servant nature.
Mattie: What happens?
Patty: God grants Bruce the power to take over for him for
a certain period. He does this to show Bruce how complex prayer
really is and how we should think carefully about what we pray for.
There’s a hilarious scene where Bruce receives everyone’s prayers in
the form of e-mail—and he has 3 and a half million prayers to
answer.
Mattie: It does sound kind of interesting. But I’m leery
of seeing Jim Carrey in anything. He overdoes his acting—if you can
call it that.
Patty: I agree; I don’t usually care for him in his comic
roles. But when he actually takes the trouble to act, he’s a lot
better—like in The Majestic. There were a couple of
things about Bruce Almighty that troubled me, though.
Mattie: What were they?
Mattie: Well, for one thing, God, who’s played by Morgan
Freeman, comes off far too much as Bruce’s buddy. God is supposed to
be holy, isn’t he? The other thing is that Bruce and his girlfriend
have been living together for a few years or so, and the movie seems
to sanction that. She’s been praying for him to surrender himself to
the Lord; he finally does this, and the implication is that their
relationship will now have the right foundation. But that seems to
say that everything we do is OK as long as we get God’s approval, no
matter whether it’s after the fact or not. Bruce surrenders and
loses his selfishness, but there’s nothing about owning up to his
sins. That’s just my take on it, though. I’d like to hear some other
reactions.
Patty: Hmm. Well, it does sound pretty interesting. All
right, you’ve convinced me. I’ll go. Do you want to see it again?
Ratings:
Seabiscuit: 2 ¾ stars
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: 1 ½ stars
Bruce Almighty: 3 ¼ stars
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Index of movie
reviews...
(2003 reviews through present)
Jay Maurer, a member of West Side Presbyterian Church, is
a long-term movie buff and former college teacher of The Film as
Literature. He has written movie reviews for The Good News
(West Side newsletter) since 2002.
If you have comments or questions
about the movie (or play) reviews, please contact Jay at
dramachap@msn.com.
Ratings are expressed in
increments of ¼ star.
A rating of 2 ½ stars or higher is meant to be a recommendation.
1 star: poor
2 stars: minimally satisfactory
3 stars: quite good
4 stars: superb
Criteria for determining the ratings:
- Reflection, either explicit or implicit, of Christian values,
including suitability of language and lack of gratuitous violence
- Quality of the acting
- Originality
- Unity of the entire picture
- Substance, or in the words of C.S. Lewis, weight
Other Christian movie review Web sites:
Plugged In Online
ChristianityTodayMovies.com
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