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| Bruce
Almighty DVD Review |
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Order this DVD from Amazon.com
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Bruce
Almighty
(Universal Studios Home Entertainment)
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| DVD
Release Date:
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November
25, 2003
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Length:
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102 mins.
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| Rated:
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PG
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| Format:
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Widescreen (1.85:1)
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Audio:
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English
DTS 5.1, English
Dolby Digital 5.1, French, Spanish
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| Subtitles:
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French, Spanish, Closed-Captioned
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| Extras:
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Audio
Commentary with Tom Shadyac, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes,
"The Process of Jim" Featurette, Cast and Crew
Filmographies, Trailers
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Jim Carrey has starred some of the more
successful comedies in recent memory. Ace Ventura. The Mask. Liar
Liar. The Grinch. But every once in a while, he seems to try and throw
a darker or more dramatic role into the foray with films like The
Cable Guy and Man on the Moon that always seem to fail at the box
office. It seems audiences don't care much for a more serious Jim
Carrey. And after his last shot at seriousness (The Majestic) tanked,
I'm sure he prayed to God that his career in Hollywood wasn't over.
And I'm sure fans around the world prayed that his next film would see
a return to his comedic roots. And it looks like God answered
everybody's prayers with Bruce Almighty.
In Bruce Almighty, Carrey plays a disgruntled weatherman who thinks
God is against him when he doesn't get the coveted anchorman promotion
at work. So, when he lashes out at the almighty Creator, God appears
to Bruce and endows him with all his powers telling him that if he
thinks he can do a better job, then to go ahead and do so. What
follows are some funny hijinx as Bruce comes to realize his power and
then some more serious moments when his girlfriend Grace (Jennifer
Aniston) dumps him. It seems even God has trouble hanging on to women!
I would say Bruce is a pretty good movie. I felt that the funnier
moments happened before Bruce got his divine powers (particularly the
Maid of the Mist scene) and everything after just seemed to be done
for comic effect, but overall, this one is definitely worth checking
out.
Surprisingly, there weren't that many special features included with
this DVD - or at least not as many as you might expect for one of the
year's highest grossing films. Even more surprising is that you don't
really hear from Jim Carrey at all about the film. Although almost
every feature focuses on his comic genius, the only insight you really
hear is from director Tom Shadyac. Although looking at Carrey's DVD
portfolio, you never really hear from the guy, so I guess this isn't
too much of a surprise. All that being said, of the features that are
available are all worth checking out just for the fact that they are
so funny.
I always like to start off with the commentary as it's usually the
most extensive feature. I'm normally not a fan of commentaries, but
the one on this disc, provided by director Tom Shadyac was actually
pretty good. It started out with a lot of praise for the actors (which
is usually what bugs me) but after the initial, and seemingly
mandatory ass-kissing, he gets into the movie and why certain
decisions were made. He points out a lot of things that were in the
movie, such as biblical references, that the average viewer might not
catch on to. Frequent topics of conversation also focused on his
relationships with frequent collaborators (Carrey and writer Steve
Oedekerk) and their contributions to the final edit. The resulting
product was a decent commentary with very little down time or gaps,
and although hearing from Carrey would have been nice, hearing from
Shadyac alone is worth the listen.
Next up was a featurette called "The Process of Jim".
Basically, it's an interview with Tom Shadyac about what it's like to
work with Jim Carrey. In it, Shadyac shows various scenes which were
shot several times, each with a different approach by Carrey. The
result is a good look at what it must be like to on set with Jim
Carrey as he uses everything at his disposal to create laughter. Sure,
some of it is off the mark which is why it didn't make the final cut,
but if you're a fan of the guy, this feature is a hoot.
The next feature are some outtakes which really could have been
included in the "Process of Jim" feature, as most deal with
more of Carrey's antics, but again, this feature is quite comical.
Running just over 6 minutes and 30 seconds, there's a lot of material
here making this worth viewing. Worth noting as well, for those of you
who like to turn off the movie when the credits start to roll, be sure
to stick around once the actual movie is over - there are some more
outtakes there as well you won't want to miss.
Probably the best feature here is the 15 deleted scenes with optional
commentary by Tom Shadyac. Usually with deleted scenes, you'll get a
couple that don't really make that big of a difference in the overall
picture, but here, it's almost like another movie. Running just over
30 minutes, there are some real gems here. The range just ridiculous
(the extended scene where Bruce pretty much tortures the new anchor)
to serious (people spontaneously confessing to Bruce) to downright
funny (an extended look at the bakery scene). One other scene that
deserves not is the Big Foot scene, where Bruce (aka Mr. Exclusive)
confirms the existence of Big Foot. If you're like me, you may wonder
why some scenes were cut, but listening to Shadyac talk about his
editing decisions, it's easy to see why. Thank God (or Bruce) for the
existence of DVD, or else some of this material might have never been
released.
Finally, there's some cast and crew info, which might be an
interesting read for some of you out there. Be sure to check out the
write-up about Jim Carrey - there's some interesting info on a couple
of his upcoming flicks. Also, if you're into movie trailers, there's
one for Bruce, plus looks at other Universal releases such as
Seabiscuit, Johnny English and American Wedding.
Overall, I'd have to say this DVD is very good. Although the quantity
of special features may not be there, the quality is. Although you
don't hear from Jim Carrey directly in the features, his genius is all
over them. Not to mention, of course, the actual movie. It's easy to
see why it appealed to so many at the box office. Like I said earlier,
it looks as though God answered everybody's prayers with Bruce
Almighty - now, if only we could all pray that Jim Carrey keeps us
laughing and doesn't make another stinker like "The
Majestic".
| The Movie: |
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7.5/10 |
| The
Extras: |
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7.5/10 |
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Bruce Almighty
Liam Cullin -
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