The Man Who Sued God (2001)

Billy Connolly plays Steve Myers, a lawyer who became a fisherman from frustration. When his one piece of property, his boat, is struck by lightning and destroyed he is denied insurance ... See full summary »

Director:

Mark Joffe

Writers:

John Clarke (original screenplay), Patrick McCarville (story idea)

Stars:

Billy Connolly, Judy Davis, Colin Friels

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Connolly	...	Steve Myers
Judy Davis	...	Anna Redmond
Colin Friels	...	David Myers
Wendy Hughes	...	Jules Myers
Bille Brown	...	Gerry Ryan
John Howard	...	Edward Piggott
Emily Browning	...	Rebecca Myers
Blair Venn	...	Les
Vincent Ball	...	Cardinal
Tim Robertson	...	Judge Bonaface
Linal Haft	...	Rabbi
Peter Whitford	...	Moderator
Frank Whitten	...	Primate
Steve Jacobs	...	Hal
Richard Carter	...	Dirk Streicher

Storyline

Billy Connolly plays Steve Myers, a lawyer who became a fisherman from frustration. When his one piece of property, his boat, is struck by lightning and destroyed he is denied insurance money because it was 'an act of God'. He re-registers as a lawyer and sues the insurance company and the church under the guise of God, defending himself. The accident leads him to a friendship and eventual relationship with a journalist, Anna Redmond (Davis).

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Plot Keywords:

insurance | lawyer | act of god | lightning | media | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 2001 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Az ember, aki beperelte Istent

Filming Locations:

Bermagui, New South Wales, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC), New South Wales Film & Television Office, Showtime Australia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bollywood movie 'Oh My God' starring Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal is inspired from The Man Who Sued God.

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Goofs

The radio announcer continuously bad-mouths Steve Myers' case on-air. However, in Australia it is illegal for radio announcers to comment about current court cases on air. To do so is to commit the crime of "sub judice." The radio announcer most likely would have known this. On the other hand, Steve's case being against an all-powerful being, he and/or the court would be hard-pressed to claim that anything said in the media could disadvantage him any worse, so journalists might not fear being found in contempt.

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Quotes

Anna Redmond: So how long do you think it'll take you to pay the money back?
Steve Meyers: Oh not long... twenty, thirty, forty years!

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Connections

Remade as Frank vs. God (2014)

User Reviews

Brilliant Performance by Connolly saves flawed film

Firstly, I did enjoy 'The man who sued God'. Billy Connolly is excellent, his wit and charm is on display throughout the film and it is very, very, funny, most of the time.

Unfortunately it is slightly too long and there are a few bits that could have been quite easily cut without harming the story.

Billy seems to spend an awful lot of time mooning around churches and the 'divine intervention' bit is embarassingly bad and entirely unnecessary. Quite frankly, whoever came up with this scene should be shot!

However having said that the film does have many qualities. The scenery is fantastic and the cast are generally excelent. Judy Davis is very good as the journo who takes an interest in Connolly's case. She strikes some nice romantic sparks of Connolly who is in great, swearing, ranting mode throughout. Colin Friels is also pretty good as Connolly's brother and Wendy Hughes is nice as the prickly but understanding ex-wife.

I can't imagine many Jews would be too pleased with the portrayal of the Rabbi "So, we just prove there is no God, ...who cares!" seems to be his attitude, but generally the film is pretty amusing with an interesting premise.

As I say there is at lease one totally shoddy scene and some unnecessary wandering that could have been fixed by a decent editor but still, if not a classic, still a genuinely funny film and well worth seeing.

By the way Connolly gives a fantastic (and quite different) acting performance as an ex-con artist in the Debt Collecter (1999). Get a hold of this Scottish thriller if you are a Connolly fan as it is absolutely brilliant.