Blu-ray Review: Bruce Almighty

Release Date: June 2nd, 2009
Running Time: 102 minutes

The Film

I adored Jim Carrey in In Living Color and his earlier film efforts such as the Ace Ventura franchise. Yet somehow during the subsequent years I didn’t enjoy his work as much. Perhaps I felt like his comedic style didn’t evolve, or that the projects he chose weren’t good fits for his talents. Whatever the reason, it has been a long time since I’ve enjoyed Jim Carrey’s comedy the way I used to. Though it was a massive box office success, I have never been partial to Bruce Almighty. Presented on a mixed bag of a Blu-ray disc, Bruce Almighty isn’t a title I would recommend upgrading to HD.

The film stars Jim Barrey as Bruce Nolan, a TV reporter in Buffalo, New York who is down and out in life. After a particularly brutal day he complains that God is doing a bad job. In response God (Morgan Freeman) confronts Bruce and temporarily grants him his powers to see if Bruce can do a better job. The only caveats are that Bruce can’t tell anyone about his powers, and that he cannot defy free will. Immediately upon receiving the powers Bruce begins a rampage of selfish and revenge-driven actions, including embarrassing his co-worker, Evan (Steve Carell), and making his girlfriend, Grace’s (Jennifer Aniston), breasts larger. His self-centered miracles elevate his status in life but ultimately end up driving away Grace.

Upon losing Grace, God has to remind Bruce that he has the monumental responsibility of listening to and answers peoples’ prayers. Flooded with e-mail “prayers,” Bruce simply grants them all to avoid doing the hard work. This, of course, has massive consequences, both good and bad. Bruce will have to truly understand what it means to have God’s power if he wants to win back Grace’s heart.

I have never been a fan of Bruce Almighty. For me the film marked the point when Jim Carrey’s comedic shtick started getting old. His facial expressions and line delivery seem stale and nowhere near as funny as his older work. While the concept of the film is certainly interesting, and parts of it are fun, it remains very imbalanced. Half of the film is comedic then it takes a more serious turn. It never finds the happy medium between the two, and the dramatic moments don’t resonate with me. If you want to see Carrey in comedy, rent Ace Ventura or Dumb and Dumber, and if you want to see him in drama, rent Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This film just doesn’t cut it in either genre.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 1.85:1, 1080p High Definition transfer. Colors are decent but can be muted at times. Skin tones are inaccurate as well. Fine detail is unremarkable and inconsistent with many shots appearing noticeably soft. Grain, video noise, and compression artifacts don’t help anything either. Even with the extra clarity of HD, this is a sloppy, uneven transfer that does not do Blu-ray justice.

The audio is offered in an English DTS HD 5.1 Master lossless audio track and Spanish/French DTS 5.1 Surround Sound with English/French/Spanish subtitles. Dialogue is clean and balanced from the center channel. Surround usage is mostly limited to the front channels without much panning or dynamic placement. Some decent ambient effects do reach the rear channels, but I never felt immersed in the scene.

The Extras

Commentary is provided by Director Tom Shadyac. The track is far more technical than casual and simply not much fun to listen to. The film isn’t groundbreaking from a technical standpoint so I imagine most people that listen to the track will want to listen to lighter, anecdotal stories.

“The Process of Jim” is a disappointing 6-minute featurette with Shadyac commenting on working with Carrey. The piece lacks any real substance which is disappointing considering he has worked with Carrey multiple times.

The Deleted Scenes section runs 30 minutes. Serious fans of the film will enjoy more of Carrey’s antics, but the inclusion of these scenes would have only dragged the film down. Shadyac provides optional commentary.

The disc finishes off with an Outtake reel and has the option of My Scenes sharing through BD-Live.

Final Thoughts

Bruce Almighty has a technically below average Blu-ray disc and a weak selection of extra content. Unless you are a die-hard fan of the film, I think you are better off spending less money on the DVD version.