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

Primate: It's a sign.
Cardinal: A miracle.
Moderator: A winged messenger.
Gerry Ryan: It's a f***ing cockatoo!

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Connections

Remade as Frank vs. God (2014)

User Reviews

Pure enjoyment, gets you thinking, superb acting.

I loved this film. This is meaningful if you share my criteria for enjoyable movies:

Mustn't shock me into nightmares. Must be well acted by engaging characters. Must touch the heart and keep me interested throughout. Must draw me fully into the "consideration" or thematic intention of the story, sparking my own pondering of life.

This film does all this and more. But most of all, it entertained me!

The story has a clever, but really believable premise... a quirky character (like me and my friends), finds himself blind-sided by an unpredictable series of events, and starts to question why and how this could have happened.

Rather than turn into emotional pulp, he rises to the occasion with humor, facing the unknown with growing intuition of how this "place" works... how mysterious and fluid life is... and what is required of a person to be a "man" (male or female).

But there is not an ounce of heaviness in this consideration of life and Reality. It's done with humor and surprises that keep me tickled throughout without dropping the thread of the deeper questioning.

I loved it, and have recommended it to all my friends.