DVD Release Date:  October 9, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: June 22, 2007
Rating: PG (for mild rude humor and some peril)
Genre: Comedy
Run Time: 95 min.
Director: Tom Shadyac
Actors: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, John Goodman, Lauren Graham, John Michael Higgins, Wanda Sykes, Jonah Hill, Molly Shannon

The story of Noah’s Ark in Genesis is the story of God’s judgment on humankind for its wickedness. With such stories having fallen out of favor with 21st-century audiences, Tom Shadyac, a Catholic filmmaker who has directed some of the most successful comedies of recent times (Bruce Almighty, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and The Nutty Professor) has, with screenwriter Steve Oedekerk (Barnyard, Kung Pow: Enter the Fist), fashioned the Noah story into something much more modern—a tale about family togetherness and random acts of kindness.

Or, in the words of God, as played by Morgan Freeman in the movie, it’s a story about believing in each other.

One’s tolerance for such reinterpretations will largely shape one’s reaction to Evan Almighty, a sequel to Shadyac’s Jim Carrey vehicle, Bruce Almighty. Here, Carrey’s Bruce is replaced by Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), the newscaster from the earlier film who arguably gave that film’s best comic performance.

Carell has since become a major star himself, thanks to last year’s breakout hit, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, this year’s Oscar contender, Little Miss Sunshine, and his role on the brilliant NBC sitcom, The Office. But unlike those envelope-pushing performances and entertainments, Carell’s role in Evan Almighty is gentle and family friendly, matching the film around him.

The film opens with Baxter now living in Northern Virginia, just outside the nation’s capital, where he works as a recently elected congressman. Having campaigned on a promise to change the world, Baxter is flattered by the efforts of Congressman Long (John Goodman) to have him co-sponsor the veteran politician’s latest bill. By uniting with Long, Baxter believes God is answering his prayer to fulfill the pledge he made to his constituents.

Encouraging him are his steadfast wife (Lauren Graham), a groveling aide (Jonah Hill), and Baxter’s chief of staff (John Michael Higgins).

God, however, has other plans for the congressman. Deliveries of lumber start arriving, unexplained, at Baxter’s house, and the congressman’s alarm keeps waking him repeatedly at 6:14 a.m.