Evan Almighty (HD DVD)

While there is certainly something rather horrific about Evan Almighty, this Steve Carell-starring sequel to the 2003 Jim Carrey smash Bruce Almighty isn't so awful a person is going to hate themselves for having sat through it. Don't get me wrong, this is a bad movie and one that is nowhere near as funny as the filmmakers and studio want it to be. I am just saying it isn't the antichrist of Hollywood comedies ($200-million budget or not).

The film finds former television news anchor Evan Baxter (Carell) now a freshman congressman who is suddenly tasked by God (Morgan Freeman) to build an Ark in order to prepare for a coming flood. Through this process the callous and self-centered politician learns good old fashioned family values, the importance of protecting the environment and that simple acts of random kindness can go a very long way towards changing the world. In other words... blah, blah, blah this is just like every other stupid feel-good family comedy ever made and you're not going to see a single thing new.

Still, there are a couple good jokes, Carell has his moments of inspiration amidst the CGI madness and small children will certainly eat it up with a spoon. And while the message is forced down audience's throats with a bag full of sugar instead of the proverbial spoon it's still hard to work up too much hatred. While I'm (thankfully) never going to watch it again I can definitely see how some out there might be willing to take a chance, and for the life of me I just can't work up enough had-core enthusiasm to urge them otherwise.

With Universal's HD DVD release (containing both High Definition and Standard versions on a flipper disc both presented in sparkling 2.35:1 Widescreen) of the picture, the studio's once again delivers a solid effort working and testing every bit of your home theater system. More so, the interactive features are kind of amusing, especially the "Ark Building for Dummies" function, while both the Picture in Picture and "Get on Board" features offer decent pop-up style information viewers get to control.

As for the rest of the special features, there is a slight air of desperation smelling of the studio trying to find some way to recoup their massive investment. There is a lot on this disc, including a collection of Deleted and Extended Scenes (all of which are pretty terrible, more so than anything found in the feature film), a series of 13 featurettes (only the "Steve Carell Unscripted" short is of any real interest) and even a kids game called "Animal Wrangler" (a slight guilty pleasure and moderately fun).

What's most interesting about these features isn't what is included, however, but what is not. There is no commentary from returning director Tom Shadyac, no new interviews or commentaries from Carell. It is almost as if this duo realizes that Evan Almighty is their new millennium Howard the Duck, a stuffed-to-the-gills comedic creation that's too overblown and too chaotic to even remotely be considered funny. It's like they decided to distance themselves from the film now that it's all over, and considering the overall response it received I can't exactly blame them.