Evan Almighty (2007)

God contacts Congressman Evan Baxter and tells him to build an ark in preparation for a great flood.

Director:

Tom Shadyac

Writers:

Steve Oedekerk (screenplay), Steve Oedekerk (story),

Stars:

Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham

1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Carell	...	Evan Baxter
Morgan Freeman	...	God
Lauren Graham	...	Joan Baxter
Johnny Simmons	...	Dylan Baxter
Graham Phillips	...	Jordan Baxter
Jimmy Bennett	...	Ryan Baxter
John Goodman	...	Congressman Long
Wanda Sykes	...	Rita
John Michael Higgins	...	Marty
Jonah Hill	...	Eugene
Molly Shannon	...	Eve Adams
Harve Presnell	...	Congressman Burrows
P.J. Byrne	...	Evan's Staffer
Ralph Louis Harris	...	Evan's Staffer (as Ralph Harris)
Arden Myrin	...	Evan's Staffer

Storyline

Buffalo newsman Evan Baxter is elected to Congress with the slogan, "Change the world." He lucks into a huge house in a new Virginia suburb. His Capitol office is also fantastic, but there's a catch: he's tapped by the powerful Congressman Long to co-sponsor a bill to allow development in national parks. In steps God, who appears to a disbelieving Evan and gently commands him to build an ark. Tools and wood arrive in Evan's yard, animal pairs follow, his beard and hair grow wildly, nomad's clothes and a staff appear. Long grows impatient, Evan starts building, his family leaves him, reporters gather, and drought grips D.C. Still, Evan believes. But will he change the world?

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Plot Keywords:

ark | congressman | change | buffalo new york | promise | 

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Taglines:

Evan help us

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild rude humor and some peril

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [es] Paramount [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bruce Almighty 2

Filming Locations:

Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$175,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,152,349 (UK) (3 August 2007)

Gross:

$100,289,690 (USA) (28 September 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Relativity Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jimmy Bennett, who plays Evan's youngest son, was filming a scene in which he and a baboon both roll logs along the ground, logs which will be used in building the ark. The baboon eventually tired of it after several takes. Suddenly, the baboon jumped up onto a pile of boards off camera and then leaped onto Bennett's back, knocking him down. The baboon then leaped back onto another pile of lumber. Filming stopped for the time being but Bennett was not hurt. Later, Bennett said he was scared when it happened, but was fine.

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Goofs

Just before the boy says "Dad,we can do this..." a blue car is driving on the road behind Evan. In another angle, as Evan sits down, the car has disappeared. In the shot of the children after Evan says "we need something to lift those beams" the car appears again on the left side of screen. (widescreen version only)

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Quotes

Rita: [upon seeing Evan's beard] Evan, what happened? Did you fall in a mine shaft?
Evan Baxter: No.
Rita: Did you just come out of a coma?
Evan Baxter: No.
Rita: Were you attacked by a werewolf?
Evan Baxter: No, I wasn't.
Rita: Well, if you were going for that rugged look, I think you over-shot it.

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Crazy Credits

The Department of Homeland Security's cooperation and assistance does not reflect an endorsement of the contents of the film or the treatment of the characters therein.

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Connections

Referenced in Being Human: Children Shouldn't Play with Undead Things (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Waiting on the World to Change"
Written by John Mayer
Performed by John Mayer
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Not Almighty, but quite All-righty!

Steve Carell returns as prissy newsreader Evan Baxter, a little less mean-spirited this time around unlike his previous small turn in 'Bruce Almighty'. Of course, Carell was up and coming then but as his box-office success shows, the character responsible for arguably the only really funny scene in 'Bruce Almighty' deserves a film of his own. Shadayac and co. have approached it with a novel (if potentially expensive idea) to make God (Morgan Freeman) appear this time to instruct Baxter to build an Arc and, as Noah did before him, load it full of animals to protect them from an for an oncoming flood. It's an idea that's very entertaining, even if the jokes are less easy than the previous premise. Evan's transformation of appearance and being pursued by eager animals are the main areas of humour here, which means at times the film is thin on the ground. Sentiment comes in the form of Evan's neglect of his family; the audience will know exactly where this will be going, but fortunately the sentiment isn't as annoying as you might believe. It's also very much a family affair, the humour and the language very much for family audiences. Disappointingly, Shadayac, responsible for bringing out two of Jim Carrey's worst performances (namely 'Liar Liar' and 'Bruce Almighty') by letting Carrey overdo it by seemingly telling him to do the whole thing as an impression of William Shatner, mistakenly this time opts to take Carell down a notch. Carell's trademark hysteria and bizarre reactions are in short supply and we have an all together calmer 'Little Miss Sunshine'-esquire turn, which also means the film loses some of it's potential in this instance. Wanda Sykes and co. are merely stock characters needing better dialogue. Does this make it a bad film? Not at all. It's religious tie-ins (if rushed) are quite smart and it's very well directed visually with a great use of music and keeping a steady pace. It is what's on the label, but with a jaw-droppingly impressive final act which will really take you by surprise and could be up there as one of the sights of the summer! You could do a lot worse than enjoy 100 minutes of easy-going fun but if it's a laugh-out-loud roller-coaster you want, you will leave short-changed!