Today’s a Sunday, and it’s family and and bonding time for my sisters and me. I was thinking if we’d spend the day shopping but I was rather bored of the idea ( huwaaat? Seriously ), or maybe just afraid that I’d draw a bigger hole in my pocket, so I invited them all to watch a movie. I remember my bestbud M telling me that she was anticipating Evan Almighty, and I said, “No, not again, another Jim Carey flick?” , “No, this time it’s Steve Carell! The one who starred in the 40 Year Old Virgin? “. At that time, I only heard of Steve Carell, remembering his name in the opening credits of Saturday Night Live , my favorite show, but a few weeks after, I got to watch the 40 Year Old Virgin and it was really funny, and I actually liked Carell’s acting.

To start, I didn’t watch Bruce Almighty, because for the primary reason that I didn’t like Jim Carey’s acting - it just didn’t appeal to me. At all. Watching the trailer of Evan Almighty made me want to watch it because it seemed freakin` funny. I also made my baby sister Shine who’s 8 watch the trailer in Youtube for her approval ( because she might just throw a tantrum in the middle of the movie when she gets bored ), and I was so surprised that she actually agreed to watch it. Maybe she liked the cute animals flocking around Carell! Hahaha!

Anyway, I’m gonna stop stalling and get on with my review. Evan Almighty starts with Evan Baxter’s last day at work as anchorman for a TV station as he is elected congressman, with his goal to “Change The World! “, they move into a whole new world - a posh lifestyle,a humongous house as he starts his new career. Then, a series of twists happen as he gets these signs and gets to know God, and his plan for him - to build an ark for the flood. At first, he is weirded out and convinces himself that it was just stress, but slowly, he begins to accept and understand his task given by the Creator, and takes a stand.

I must say that this movie is one of the most hilarious movies I’ve ever watched. It tickled and bruised my funny bone pretty badly. The way Steve shouts, the costume given to him ( the Biblical looking robes ), and his affinity to animals made me laugh overboard. Heck, even Shine, my baby sister ( again, who’s 8 ) laughed so hard that we were amused that she was able to laugh and comprehend in a movie which isn’t cartoon in nature. The jokes were also funny ( when his secretary called him a Beegee, and a newscaster called him a Weirdo in a Beardo ), no doubt, everyone who watched this laughed their hearts out. Aside from the intense humor that I was able to digest, the movie also addressed the issue of the extent of man’s greed - as it takes toll on the environment. “Progress” as they call it, destroys Mother Nature, what God’s original landscape was. We are truly bound for that, and I hope that the effect would not be too catastrophic.

The movie was also heartwarming. It was heartwarming in two ways - it made me go back to the days wherein I was a kid, and enjoyed being a kid, and it reminded me of the importance of family.

The movie was all about Evan being assigned by God to build an ark, and it reminded me of the Biblical story Noah’s Ark, which I have loved reading about way back when I was little, I think Grade 1. I had this yellow hardbound book full of Bible stories, and I’d read it over and over again because I just loved them. No matter how ridiculous the idea seemed - putting the Noah’s Ark storyline in the modern times, it was a refreshing to reminisce such story from the greatest story ever told, the Bible. The story was all about having faith in God despite scorns and the multitude of disbelievers, and no matter how crazy they think you are, you just go on carrying God’s plan because you yourself have faith in him. In my earlier years, I have been like that - willing to have faith. As time passed by, I grew more and more cynical, until it reached to a point that I was unwilling to accept things without tangible proof. I just grew weary of the world, and got disappointments more than I could imagine. This movie touched my soul in a way that I yearned to go back to my childhood innocence and sense of wonder, and somehow, teach my heart to have faith again.

When everything is against you and you have no one to turn to, all you have is your family. Family members stick together through thick and thin, and solve and survive problems together. The movie made me feel fuzzy all over with the idea of a solid family, and I am very happy that my family is a solid, tight-knit, and happy one. We may not have all the material possessions that I’ve ever dreamed of having ( which explains my day and night jobs ), but what we have is something so precious that no amount of money would compensate for it. I’ve learned to appreciate our quiet and simple Sunday lunches together , efforts of Mom and Dad to take us to places to enjoy despite their busy and tiring schedules. Overall, the movie made me think of how much I love my family , and I thank God for giving me such a great gift. I’m more than grateful.

I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, and I mean anyone! I’m getting a DVD of this because it’s just so great!