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BRUCE ALMIGHTY by Tom McCurrie
BRUCE ALMIGHTY smote box-office records its opening weekend, primarily due to Jim Carrey's starpower. But does the script work on its own? Overall, yes, though like Adam and Eve, it has its weaknesses.
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead!)
The main reason BRUCE works is its killer premise: A born complainer gets the chance to be God when the Deity goes on vacation. The beauty of this premise is that you can have an endless number of hilarious permutations. Since God can do anything, He can do anything funny. There's also no worry about a thin plot -- God's infinite powers provide grist for a boatload of narrative incident.
The script also has excellent plants and payoffs. Carrey drools over being the new anchor at his Buffalo TV station, but gets passed over for a guy who steals his copy. The seeds of revenge are planted, and soon pay off in one of the most sidesplitting scenes in recent memory. The Rules are another good plant. When God tells Bruce the one thing He can't change is Free Will, little does B. know his girlfriend is going to dump him. Once she does, all the powers in the universe can't win her back. This is a wonderful irony -- the thing "God" wants most, He can't have.
I also like the way the script develops after the mid-point. BRUCE isn't content to show Carrey goofing around with his powers, it shows how that goofing around causes unintended consequences -- and absolute chaos. This sends what could have been just another light comic script into darker, more intriguing territory. Be Careful What You Wish For, indeed.
BRUCE does have a downside, however. Though the script has a killer premise, it takes too long to get to it. Much of the First Act is spent setting up Carrey's character, giving the story a sluggish start. Another problem -- Carrey's life really isn't so bad. He has a loving girlfriend and a well-paying job. It's true he has a bad day, but that's no reason to consider yourself Job. Worse yet, he brings misery on himself. He self-destructs on camera when he doesn't get the promotion. How can he blame God for that? By doing so, he becomes a whiner -- and audiences don't like whiners.
It also would have been nice to give Carrey a ticking clock. God hands Carrey his powers and goes on vacation, not saying when He'll be back. This means Carrey gets to play God indefinitely -- or, at least until he gets tired of doing it. If God had given Carrey only seven days, it would have put more pressure on him to clean up the mess he made of Buffalo (and his relationship) before time ran out. And this would have increased the tension dramatically.
The supporting characters are one-note as well. Jennifer Aniston's love interest is thinly sketched, endlessly supportive and endlessly dull. Fine actors like Philip Baker Hall and Nora Dunn are also wasted in thankless roles.
Finally, we have the ending. Bruce realizes he doesn't need the Power of God to be content, that his life is perfect as is. So he gives up his Godly perch and opts for a comfy life with the girlfriend and the second banana job making people laugh. Who needs an anchor promotion when you have all that, right?
Now endings are where the philosophy of the writer comes in, and as such, are neither right nor wrong. It's all a question of taste. BRUCE's ending works dramatically if you dig its "Stop and Smell the Roses" message. But if you don't, it's fairly creepy, with its "Stay in Line and Don't Rock the Boat" point of view. Is giving up on your dreams the key to happiness? After all, Bruce might have been a terrific anchor if given half a chance. Is settling for second best the way to true love? Not really, since disappointed dreams can poison even the most loving relationship. Are ambition and love mutually exclusive? BRUCE thinks so -- but that's one philosophy I don't buy.
Responses, comments and general two-cents worth can be E-mailed to gillis662000@yahoo.com.
A graduate of USC's School of Cinema-Television, Tom McCurrie has worked as a development executive and a story analyst. He is currently a screenwriter living in Los Angeles.
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