Evan Almighty

Critics have lined up to beat the shit out of this one, citing its huge budget, lack of laughter and overly sweet nature. Hey, movies cost a ridiculous amount of money, and sometimes producers go nuts. Get over it! An expensive movie isn’t automatically bad because it isn’t great. Yeah, I didn’t laugh up a storm at this one, but I did smile a lot. An update of the Noah story starring Steve Carell (reprising his role from Bruce Almighty), Evan Almighty is sort of like Field of Dreams with lots of critters. Carell handles the role of Evan—forced to build an ark while dealing with an appallingly hairy physical change—masterfully. The special effects involving the animals are well done, but not amazing. And, yes, the movie is ridiculously sweet. I guess critics want their Noah updates with more bloodletting and vulgarity. Go into this film looking for decent family fare and cute shots involving raccoons doing the face-cover-up thing, and you’ll be fine. Go in looking for the latest Carell laugh riot, and you’ll probably grouse afterwards. I thought it was adorable, but I’ve always been a sucker for baboons drinking lemonade.