The Man Who Sued God (2001)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Mark Joffe

Writers:

John Clarke (original screenplay)
Patrick McCarville (story)

Release Date:

25 October 2001 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Billy Connolly plays Steve Myers, a lawyer who became a fisherman from frustration. When his one piece of property...

Plot Keywords:

God | Insurance | Lawyer | Lightning | Act Of God

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Billy Connolly	...	Steve Myers
Judy Davis	...	Anna Redmond
Colin Friels	...	David Myers
Wendy Hughes	...	Jules Myers
Bille Brown	...	Gerry Ryan
John Howard	...	Edward Piggott
Emily Browning	...	Rebecca Myers
Blair Venn	...	Les
Vincent Ball	...	Cardinal
Tim Robertson	...	Judge Bonaface
Linal Haft	...	Rabbi
Peter Whitford	...	Moderator
Frank Whitten	...	Primate
Steve Jacobs	...	Hal
Richard Carter	...	Dirk Streicher

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Denmark:7 | UK:15 | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Bermagui, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dave throws the newspaper on top of Steve as he's lying in bed, the second shot of Steve shows no newspaper lying on his upper body, but the third and fourth shots show the newspaper again.

Quotes:

Rabbi: [about his Christian counterparts] They're praying to God. They should be praying for better lawyers.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Getaway: (#15.33)" (2006)

Brilliant Performance by Connolly saves flawed film

Firstly, I did enjoy 'The man who sued God'. Billy Connolly is excellent, his wit and charm is on display throughout the film and it is very, very, funny, most of the time.

Unfortunately it is slightly too long and there are a few bits that could have been quite easily cut without harming the story.

Billy seems to spend an awful lot of time mooning around churches and the 'divine intervention' bit is embarassingly bad and entirely unnecessary. Quite frankly, whoever came up with this scene should be shot!

However having said that the film does have many qualities. The scenery is fantastic and the cast are generally excelent. Judy Davis is very good as the journo who takes an interest in Connolly's case. She strikes some nice romantic sparks of Connolly who is in great, swearing, ranting mode throughout. Colin Friels is also pretty good as Connolly's brother and Wendy Hughes is nice as the prickly but understanding ex-wife.

I can't imagine many Jews would be too pleased with the portrayal of the Rabbi "So, we just prove there is no God, ...who cares!" seems to be his attitude, but generally the film is pretty amusing with an interesting premise.

As I say there is at lease one totally shoddy scene and some unnecessary wandering that could have been fixed by a decent editor but still, if not a classic, still a genuinely funny film and well worth seeing.

By the way Connolly gives a fantastic (and quite different) acting performance as an ex-con artist in the Debt Collecter (1999). Get a hold of this Scottish thriller if you are a Connolly fan as it is absolutely brilliant.