DESPITE HAVING the usually hilarious Steve Carell as its leading man, “Evan Almighty” fails to induce much laughter. Trading in his seat in the news anchor chair for one in the halls of Congress, Evan is called upon by God (Morgan Freeman) to build an arc because … well, you know the story, right?
The gags - mostly centered around cute and highly trained animals - are the stuff of movies of the week on ABC Family, not a big-budgeted summer comedy featuring the star of “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”
The special effects are impressive, but even flashy visuals get washed away in the flood of mixed messages. In trying to play to both sides of the ideological fence, director Tom Shadyac and his team wound up landing squarely in the middle. Hard. Anyone who’s ever experienced that knows it’s an exquisite pain. To most anyone who isn’t a devotee of the “700 Club,” this god-awful movie will feel a lot like that.
"Evan Almighty"
Genre: Comedy
Director: Tom Shadyac
Stars: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham
Rating: PG
Grade: 2 globes