[Epaphras]

I just got back from seeing this and will sleep on it until I post my thoughts.

Anyone?

[thelitguy]

Unless you've slept for 8 days, I'm still waiting for some input!

I was slightly interested in this, but wanted to hear some feedback first.

[Art]

I want to see it. I have some issues with Ricky Gervais, but the fact is, he is a very funny man, who makes good TV and movies. I really want to see it.

[Epaphras]

Sorry, I actually forgot about my promise to give feedback. I was telling my family about this the other day and that reminded me.

Basically, it's an atheistic comedy. Ricky Gervais' character (and Gervais is an atheist) basically invents God and religion (because he is the only person who can tell a lie, and everyone believes him because they have no reason not to), and then at the end declares, "There is no man in the sky" (which is the name they use for God). He "invents" the idea of God and an afterlife on his mothers' deathbed in order to comfort her in her final moments, and it spirals out of control.

So, as you can imagine, there is a lot of sacrilege. Yes, I understand that the filmmakers' characature of God is overly-simplistic, and in many ways a classic straw man -- build up a false view of the opponent, tear it down, and claim victory. But, it still left a bad taste in my mouth.

The premise is comical, no doubt -- a world where no one has ever lied, where everyone is brutally honest all the time. The TV commercials and film arc in the story were very funny (i.e., "Pepsi: For when Coke is not available"; "Coke: We're Very Famous", movies are nothing more than people reading historically-accurate accounts of historical events i.e. "Napoleon: 1812-1815"). The brutal honesty of people was entertaining, and in many ways refreshing. I found myself wishing people would act more like this, instead of the fake-ness and niceties we perform.

But as soon as he invents God and religion, it crossed over that point that Bruce Almighty managed to tread carefully, and plunged well into sacrilege, in my opinion. It left me thinking for days (the scenes of the public asking questions of Gervais' character about "The man in the sky" were basically the entire history of religious debate and apologetics in a few minutes' time), but in the end I decided I did not actually like the movie.

[kukuruza]

Unless you've slept for 8 days, I'm still waiting for some input!
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