With the considerable success of his new comedy The 40 Year Old Virgin, former Daily Show correspondent/Produce Pete Steve Carell surely has a vast selection of potential projects before him. So why in the name of Albert Brooks would he settle for Jim Carrey’s sloppy seconds? If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the hefty paycheck.
Yes, the genuinely funny Carell will return for more blasphemous laughs in Evan Almighty, a half-assed semi-sequel to Bruce Almighty, a movie that managed to generate an asinine amount of money despite being staggeringly unfunny. Carell will reprise his minor role of reformed-asshole anchor (admittedly one of the few humorous things about the first movie) for the utterly needless follow-up, which will find him building an ark for some biblical-sized flood and making me wish Get Smart was ready to film instead.
The script was penned by Steve Oedekerk as an intended return to power for Jim Carrey, who’s apparently too busy being all actorly. Tom Shadyac will again direct the sacrilege, with Morgan Freeman expected to return as God. Universal is also threatening an ongoing franchise of Almighty movies with Freeman’s Supreme Being negligently handing out his omnipotence to other random douchebags.