Evan Almighty

My wife and I recently went to see Evan Almighty, and I thought I would give my take on the film, which was enjoyable, but had some pleasant surprises in it. Seeing as how Tom Shadyac directed it, and having seen Bruce Almighty, I had a good idea what to expect. Shadyac is the director responsible for Ace Ventura, Liar,Liar, and Bruce Almighty, So I expected his trademark brand of irreverent humor, but this film has more to it than meets the eye. Steve Carell plays Evan Baxter, a former news anchor who gets elected to congress, and has just moved into his new home in a DC suburb when strange things start happening. It culminates with Morgan Freeman, reprising his role of God, showing up to inform Evan that he wants him to build an ark. Steve Carell is funny, playing Evan, a smart dressing, neat freak who starts growing a beard he cannot shave off, and some of the plot is kind of predictable, but still very funny. I don't watch The Office, but I am familiar with Carell and think he is a good fit for this movie.
The comedy aspect of Evan Almighty was funny, but pretty much what I expected. What I didn't expect was the attitude of the film towards things of God. I did not hear the cynicism I thought I would when topics such as prayer and faith were brought up, but the pleasant surprise was Morgan Freeman's expositions as God. In a scene with Evan's wife, God explains, that "when you pray for patience, I don't fill you with patience, I give you the opportunity to exercise patience. When you pray for your family to be closer, I don't fill you with warm, fuzzy feelings, I create situations that will help your family grow closer together." ( I don't have the quote exactly right, but you get the idea)
This is also a family friendly film with no sexual innuendo or foul language to speak of so I would highly recommend this movie. The closest thing to questionable is a scene where Evan eschews his Noah robe God provided him and puts his suit back on, which dissappears as soon as he steps out his front door, much to the surprise of the female Postal Carrier on the sidewalk. It's a lot of fun. There are some hysterical animal scenes, and John Goodman is a good heavy. Wanda Sykes is actually not as irritating as usual either.