Evan Almighty (2007) - Shadyac's monumentally miscalculated sequel/professional gravestone (hope not)

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+ Most Expensive Flop of the Decade: 105.7 mil. $ range

+ Most Expensive Flop of the Year (lost approximately 105.7 mil. $) + Worst Poster of the Year + Biggest Career Killer of the Year: Tom Shadyac 

 

This poster for Tom Shadyac's Evan Almighty is a fine example of a grotesquely manipulated copy-paste poster graphics job that's gone awfully wrong

 

Following the funny huge hit Bruce Almighty (2003), spin-off Evan Almighty focuses on news anchor-turned-congressman Evan (Steve Carell (The Big Short (2015))). One of his colleagues gets contacted by God, who - for reasons that seem beyond our comprehension, - make Evan into a modern day Noah.

- As his hysterical wife leaves him, and the political job becomes harder and harder to keep, Carell trots around in more and more wacky costumes and hair jobs in Evan Almighty, which must surely rank among the craziest and most outlandish comedies in recent history. It is a very bizarre film built around a poor idea, which is also very badly constructed from there. It is also a huge effects feature, which is amusing in small glimpses, - mostly those in which Carell seems to laugh inwards in earnest at the whole absurd situation he has put himself in here.

Morgan Freeman (Oblivion (2013)) is, however, good as God, and, believe it or not, so is the message of the film.

Evan Almighty is written by Steve Oedekerk (Bruce Almighty), with Joel Cohen (Toy Story (1995)) and Alec Sokolow (Garfield (2004)) contributing story elements, and directed by Virginian master filmmaker Tom Shadyac (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)), whose directing career fell into a black hole, probably as a result of the costly failure of Evan Almighty. (Shadyac has only directed a documentary since.)

 

Related posts:

 

Tom Shadyac: The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Bruce Almighty (2003) - Carrey makes laughter in well-made what-if-you-were-God-comedy

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) - 6th gear Jim Carrey smacker

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 175 mil. $

Box office: 173.4 mil. $

= Huge flop

[Evan Almighty was released June 22 and runs 96 minutes. Its script is a reworking of the spec script The Passion of the Ark, which Sony Pictures bought in a bidding war for a huge 2.5 mil. $ in 2004, beginning the hugely expensive and difficult production of Evan Almighty. Jim Carrey, the star of Bruce Almighty, declined to star in the sequel, which thus became a spin-off. Shooting took place in Virginia, Washington and California, including Universal Studios, from March - August 2006. The budget ballooned from 140 mil. to 175 mil. $ due to the effects-heavy, animal-heavy shoot. Shadyac had an environmental focus during production, getting thousands of trees planted to make up for its CO2 emissions, and had a fall-out with the producers towards the release of the film. The film opened #1 with a 31.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#3, #5) and grossed 100.4 mil. $ (57.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 12.1 mil. $ (7 %) and Australia with 6.7 mil. $ (3.9 %). The film additionally made in excess of 27.6 mil. $ on home video sales in North America alone, which, if added to its gross, changes its statues to merely a big flop. Evan Almighty is rotten at 23 % with a 4.5 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Evan Almighty?