W. Doug Bolden

Starring Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman. Directed by Tom Shadyac. Written by Steve Oedekerk.

Review

I'll be brief.

This is not to say that I did not like the movie.

In fact, I enjoyed the movie enough that I would recommend most people see it once, though I, myself, will probably not see it again unless it just happens to be on TV one night.

This, neither, is to say that I did not enjoy the movie.

I just felt that the movie was wee bit mappable from the beginning. It's a comedy about the flood. So, we have two possible paths. It can either be a light comedy, in which the flood is not going to happen or is mostly symbolic. Or, it can be a dark comedy in which everyone dies.

We see, from the beginning, its pretty light.

There are two other possible paths. It can be a quasi-serious flick, in which the flood isn't going to happen. Or, more farcical, which means that it probably will.

It looks pretty farcical...but wait, the flood can't happen because it is a light comedy. WHAT THE HECK???

And now you see my train of thought through much of this movie.

This is not to say that I didn't like it.

In fact, I enjoyed it. The humor was a bit slapstick. Those bits of cleverness tended to be over explained. And most every one in the movie fits right into the niche they need to fit into. Except, well, they could have downplayed Molly Shannon and up-played Wanda Sykes. Maybe that is just me.

It does preach at you. It moralizes. Worse, yet, it makes no [real] sense when all is said and done. It ends feeling that very little of any of it had a purpose. Besides, maybe, for jokes like making the man who is building the Ark have a wife named Joan. (GET IT??? HA! and, well, if you did, and didn't like it...then maybe you should wait for DVD on this one.)

But this is not at all to say that I did not enjoy it.

I actually liked it. And that should be saying something.