Bruce Almighty

Sometimes, there’s a lot to be said for sticking to what you know. Yes, gurning comic Jim Carrey should be applauded for attempting to broaden his horizons and The Trueman Show was brilliant, but audiences just didn’t flock to the likes of Man On The Moon or The Majestic. Undoubtedly, some will see re-teaming with Tom Shadyac - the man who launched him to stardom with Ace Ventura and Liar Liar - as a backwards step, but it also leads to Carrey's funniest yet, with a script playing to all his strengths.

He plays local TV reporter Bruce Nolan who, despite having a great job, girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) and life is constantly complaining that the big guy upstairs has it in for him. Eventually growing tired of the blaspheming, God (Morgan Freeman) grants Bruce all his divine powers to see if the moaning journalist can do any better.

The premise is brilliantly simple - an average man gets given God's abilities and uses them to right the wrongs in his life. Of course, it's fun, wish-fulfilling stuff, but the reason it works so well is Carrey. On the surface, we should probably hate Bruce, given that he's dissatisfied with a TV presenter's job and an unusually understanding girlfriend who looks like Aniston (who is delightful as always) - yet we don't. Using all the tricks in his comedic, improv-heavy bag, JC seems to have been let off the leash, with buddy Shadyac content to watch him do his thing whilst offering some very inventive sight gags.

Carrey sceptics will point out that there's the usual doses of over-doing it (see the "Eroding. Errooooding!" TV meltdown), but the amount of winning moments is too large for any of the flat ones to linger. Scarily on-the-money impersonations of Walter Cronkite and Clint Eastwood, a quick pre-sex scene-setting routine, a hilarious dose of person-puppetry on rival reporter Evan (Steve Carrel, scene-stealing)... it's clear the former Ace Ventura is having a ball. Still, for all the madcap, there's also some impressively subtle touches, such as Bruce blowing up his chest to face some bullies or the bored look on his face at a chilli cook-off before summoning a meteorite to - as he puts it - "spice things up a bit".

Undeniably, the plot feels a bit uneven towards the end, but this might be a result of major scene cuts to help with pacing. Plus, despite the fact he's usually portrayed as a white man with a neck-long white beard, you couldn't have asked for a better God than Freeman. Unfathomably-wise, reassuringly-articulate and genuinely-warm yet stern when he needs to be, Freeman brings credibility in spades while rocking potentially-naff lines like "come, take a closer walk with me".

It's not just good, it's goooood. Nothing new here for Carrey-haters but for the rest it’s his - and Shadyac's - funniest effort yet. B-E-U-tiful.