Oh, God! CR: #19

This week's review is another random choice. I'd only heard about it, but never seen. I was afraid it would be dated and old, like most movie before the 80's. But I was happily mistaken. This week's movie is the classic...

Let's Begin

PLOT

Jerry Landers is your typical grocery store assistant manager, he does his job very well, he has two kids, and a wife who all love him. Then one night, Jerry is given a letter requesting him to meet with "God". Obviously thinking it a joke, Jerry takes no mind to it, until he can't seem to get rid of the letter. He even tears it to pieces and it comes back brand new. He decides to meet with "God" and soon discovers that this is no joke. God has chosen Jerry, a hinted at atheist, to deliver his message that he is not dead and that there is hope, we have the tools to make the world better. When Jerry tries to give the message, the situation completely goes out of hand Jerry is left with some hard choices. He has to depend on his God-given abilities to help him get God's message out.

PROS

You might be reading this and thinking, "That seems like they"re making fun of religion!". Well you're somewhat right. While the film does poke fun at religion, it only pokes at what is wrong with it, and embraces what I like about religion. It never becomes a pro religious movie, it just tells you how it is, and has God explain things that make more sense that anything a "fake" christian could ever tell you.

There are many scenes where, like most people, Jerry is asking God the questions we all want to know. And he does answer them, and they make a ton of sense. The writers were obviously very religious, but they understand what their religion is actually about.

Gorge Burns is a perfect fit for playing God. He convinces you that he is God.

The courtroom scene is one of the best I've seen. It's a quiet scene that goes from chuckle comedy to thought-provoking ideas. And God's speech during this scene, let's just say I was falling asleep until He started to speak, even though he was talking very monotone.

The ending is bitter-sweet, more on the sweet side, but still bitter. It's realistic and makes sense.

CONS

The scenes without God aren't that entertaining. While they can be funny, they just aren't that interesting. While God is never far away from making an appearance, you're just hoping it would come sooner.

The movie is very dated. While only in the first 30 min. or so, it's still a problem.

CONCLUSION

I really enjoyed this film. While I'm not a religious person, this is the kind of religious movie I like. It's not afraid to poke fun at itself but it gets the religion it's in fact making fun of. Full of laughs and thought-provoking, this deserves the title of "Classic film".

RATING

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