Bruce Almighty is a American comedy film, directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. It stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down on his luck TV reporter who seeks a promotion and a better life overall. After a series of bad incidents, such as being beaten while helping a homeless person, Bruce complains that God can't do His job properly. He is surprised when he is met by God Himself and granted His powers to see if he can do a better job. Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Catherine Bell, Lisa Ann Walter, and Philip Baker Hall also star, while Tony Bennett makes a cameo appearance.

The film was a box office success despite mixed reviews from critics. When released in American theatres in May 2003, it took the #1 spot at the box office, grossing $85.89 million, higher than the release of Pearl Harbor, making it the highest-rated Memorial Day weekend opening of any film in motion picture history until the release of X-Men: The Last Stand over Memorial Day 2006. The movie surprised media analysts when it beat The Matrix Reloaded after its first week of release. By the time it left theaters in December 2003, it took in a United States domestic total of over $242 million and $484 million worldwide, breaking records as the seventeenth highest-grossing live action comedy of all time.

Plot

Bruce Nolan is a television field reporter for Channel 7 Eyewitness News on WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York who, through his continuous coverage of media interest stories, rather than hard news, is unsuccessful at getting a job as an anchorman. He is in love with his girlfriend Grace, and wants to marry her, but is also very attracted to his co-worker, Susan. After a series of other incidents of ill fortune in one day, he complains to God that He is treating him (Bruce) unfairly and is doing a poor job as supreme deity. God (Morgan Freeman) then contacts Bruce and grants Bruce all of his power so as to prove which one is the better at doing God's job of taking care of the world. The only limits are that he can't go against free will or tell anyone that he is God. Bruce uses his new-found omnipotent powers for personal gain: he sabotages Evan Baxter, his colleague and nemesis who won the audition for the coveted anchorman job; he takes revenge on a street gang who mugged him earlier in the film, transforms his busted-up car from a Datsun 260Z to a Saleen S7, and brings the moon closer to Earth. He gains the status of Mr. Exclusive by presenting news of a meteor hurling down near a local fair, uncovering the corpse of Jimmy Hoffa, and getting the rival news group reporters arrested on charges of possessing marijuana. He allows his favorite hockey team, the Buffalo Sabres, to win the Stanley Cup, commands his dog to use the toilet for urination, and enhances the breasts and sex drive of Grace.