Movie · 2007 · Fantasy, Comedy, Family · 1h 36m · PG · English
Curator score: 0.6/10 (341.4K ratings)
A comedy of biblical proportions.
Overview
God contacts Junior Congressman Evan Baxter and tells him to build an ark in preparation for a great flood.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.6/10
IMDb: 5.4/10
Letterboxd: 2.49/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 24%
Metacritic: 37
TMDB: 5.6/10
Director
Tom Shadyac
Production
Universal Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Relativity Media, Shady Acres Entertainment, Original Film
Cast
Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, Johnny Simmons, Graham Phillips, Jimmy Bennett, John Goodman, Wanda Sykes, John Michael Higgins, Jonah Hill, Molly Shannon, Harve Presnell, P.J. Byrne, Ralph Louis Harris, Arden Myrin, Brian Howe, Ralph P. Martin, Maile Flanagan, Angela Martinez, Ed Helms
Curator Review
Verdict
A broad, family-friendly studio comedy with a sincere faith-based premise, some inspired casting, and a few genuinely sweet animal-rescue beats, but the humor is uneven and the scale often overwhelms the jokes. It works best as a mild, sentimental crowd-pleaser rather than a sharp comedy.
Best for
Viewers who like gentle, high-concept family comedies
Fans of earnest faith-adjacent stories
People who enjoy Steve Carell’s awkward, exasperated persona
Families looking for a light live-action fantasy with animals and slapstick
Skip if
You want consistently strong jokes
You dislike overt religious themes
You prefer comedies with a sharper satirical edge
Big-budget CGI spectacle without much emotional payoff tends to leave you cold
Overview
Evan Almighty is a sequel that swaps the tighter comic engine of its predecessor for a bigger, softer, more openly devotional fable. The premise is absurd in the best possible way: a modern politician is commanded to build an ark, and the movie commits to that bit with expensive sincerity. That sincerity is part of the appeal, even when the jokes don’t always land.
Worth noting
Steve Carell keeps the film watchable by playing Evan as a man slowly losing control of his life while trying very hard to remain decent. Morgan Freeman’s calm, authoritative presence gives the movie its most memorable texture, and the animal chaos provides the kind of broad family-movie spectacle the script often needs. The film is less funny than it wants to be, but it has a wholesome momentum that can be surprisingly effective.
Bottom line
What lingers is not the comedy but the tone: a polished, mainstream morality play about responsibility, faith, and doing the right thing when it looks ridiculous. If you’re open to that blend of silliness and sincerity, it can be an easy watch. If you’re expecting a sharper or more subversive studio comedy, it will probably feel overlong and underwritten.
Top Letterboxd reviews
ayad · 620 likes
between this and first reformed i believe that the last decade has been excellent for christian cinema
Jake Miles (1★) · 587 likes
A lot worse than I remember. Sorry to pick holes but why do animals come from all over the world? The flood is a local flood and not global. Surely the Lions, Tigers, Polar Bears etc would be safer staying where they were.
Logan Kenny (1★) · 332 likes
according to the Irish Times, you could buy 40 billion Freddos with 175 million euros. now the production of this movie is 144 million euros, since it's 175 million dollars in the States and the dollar is always higher than the euro. it would take a lot of math to find out specifically how many Freddos that the American budget of the film Evan Almighty could buy but I also assume that Freddos in the United States would be priced… more according to the Irish Times, you could buy 40 billion Freddos with 175 million euros. now the production of this movie is 144 million euros, since it's 175 million dollars in the States and the dollar is always higher than the euro. it would take a lot of math to find out specifically how many Freddos that the American budget of the film Evan Almighty could buy but I also assume that Freddos in the United States would be priced… more
Andrew Nosal (3★) · 278 likes
Am I the only one who enjoys this movie?
lauren (3★) · 260 likes
"Why do you sound like Evan Baxter but look like a bee gee?"