The result plays like an over-extended version of the Reiner/Mel Brooks 2000-Year-Old Man sketches.
Oh, God! (1977)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:18
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6.1/10
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Jerry Landers (a terrifically surprising John Denver) is an average guy in every sense of the word. He lives a completely normal, dull life, working at the local supermarket (where everybody, of... Jerry Landers (a terrifically surprising John Denver) is an average guy in every sense of the word. He lives a completely normal, dull life, working at the local supermarket (where everybody, of course, knows him and likes him) and never doing anything out of the ordinary. That's why no one is more surprised than he is when God chooses to make himself known to the world through Jerry by sending him a typewritten, misspelled note granting him an audience with the Supreme Being. Jerry doesn't believe his eyes when God turns out to be an old, scrawny man (who looks a lot like George Burns). First, God must convince Jerry that he really is whom he claims to be; as Jerry grow closer and closer to him, he starts growing apart from his family--his wife, played by Teri Garr, thinks he has lost all his marbles. As Jerry goes public with God's message, his faith is tested every step of the way, resulting in a very funny and meaningful trial scene. This wry, thoughtful comedy from Carl Reiner, based on the novel by Avery Corman, carries a serious message about religion, faith, and the way people care for the world they've been given. George Burns is delightful as the forthright, wisecracking God; his scenes with Denver are cinematic treasures. [More]
Starring: George Burns, John Denver, Teri Garr, Paul Sorvino
Starring: George Burns, John Denver, Teri Garr, Paul Sorvino, Ralph Bellamy, Dinah Shore, Barry Sullivan, Donald Pleasence
Director: Carl Reiner
Director: Carl Reiner
Producer: Jerry Weintraub
Screenwriter: Larry Gelbart
Composer: Jack Elliott
Reviews for Oh, God!
Oh, God! salutes human responsibility for making the world a better place and takes justifiable pot-shots at holier-than-thou hotshots.
This wonderful comedy salutes human responsibility for making the world a better place and takes justifiable pot-shots at holier-than-thou hotshots.
Carl Reiner's Oh, God! is a treasure of a movie: A sly, civilized, quietly funny speculation on what might happen if God endeavored to present himself in the flesh yet once again to forgetful Man.
George Burns seems to be warming up for a good Second City sketch on God's return to earth as a rumpled vaudevillian, but it soon becomes clear that director Carl Reiner isn't kidding -- he really thinks this movie is going to save the world.
I was struck by just how good Denver was. It's surprising he didn't get more roles based on his debut performance.
An uneasy amalgam or inconsistent attitudes, without enough humor or zaniness to divert attention from its questionable premise.
Burns is everything we could hope for in a benevolent God--a kindly, reassuring voice; a sympathetic smile; a modest, unassuming manner; everyone's favorite uncle.
Reiner does one of his best directing jobs and never resorts to some of the silliness he's demonstrated in other films. Denver is very affable and could have had a good movie career given the right material.
Somewhere deep down, I think we all hope that God turns out to be like George Burns.
Latest News for Oh, God!
March 20, 2008:
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The upcoming Easter holiday had us thinking about movies based on the Bible, and more specifically, movies have some kind of portrayal of God himself. So we've put together a... More...
June 02, 2005:
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