Bruce Almighty (HD-DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C- Film: C-
One
writer once described Jim Carrey as “The King Of Embarrassment” and that
explained his success, as he dug into the more uncomfortable sides of what
people did not want to talk or think about.
Having played that out, Will Ferrell has succeeded him in bizarre new
ways. Director Tom Shadyac had put
Carrey on the film map (after In Living
Color introduced him widely) with the highly homophobic, idiotic and gross Ace Ventura films, reuniting here for
the lame-but-profitable 2005 comedy Bruce
Almighty. To go with its high-prices
sequel imminent in theaters, Universal has issued the film on HD-DVD.
Well, it
is awful, dumb and a one-note concept (Carrey becomes God) meaning all hell
will break loose. His wife is Jennifer
Aniston, sudden spiritual advisor is Morgan Freeman, competition is Steve
Correll (who has edged out Carrey and Ferrell, if you think about it) and the
underrated Philip Baker Hall is also wasted in a film that tries to be like
Carrey’s awful older films and be a feel-good film, which are highly
contradictory things in the lamest way.
Carrey will never be Tom Hanks and he has enough bombs to now prove
this. Wonder what they can possibly do
in a sequel?
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 VC-1 digital High Definition image comes from what looks like an older
HD master and has all kinds of issues throughout, even if it looks just better
than the DVD. The filmmakers were
actually smart enough to hire the great Dean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C., as their
Director of Photography and I believe his cinematography that saved this film
at the box office aside from Carrey’s pros and cons. The Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 mix is limited
thanks to the dialogue-based comedy nature of this film, but John Denby’s score
is so-so. Extras are few and include a
full length commentary that has to be heard to be believed, a featurette
telling us how clever Carrey is and a deleted scenes/outtakes section lasting
about 35 minutes that is all for fans only.
- Nicholas Sheffo
