MPAA Rating:PG
Distributor:Universal Pictures
Director:Tom Shadyac
Starring:Steve Carell as Evan Baxter, Morgan Freeman as God, Lauren Graham as Joan Baxter, John Goodman as Congressman Long, John Michael Higgins as Marty, Wanda Sykes as Rita, Molly Shannon as Eve Adams.

When anchorman Evan Baxter is elected to congress, he packs his wife and three sons into the family Hummer and heads to Capitol Hill. That night Evan's wife prays that the family would grow closer together, and he asks God to help him change the world.

God hears them.

Strange coincidences begin to grab Evan's attention. Loads of lumber mysteriously appear in his front yard. Then he gets a visit from the Creator of the universe who tells him to build an ark. Evan ignores the divine instructions until a string of embarrassing moments convinces him that God isn't about to take no for an answer. And so Evan builds an ark that will save people from a flood.

In the movie, God is loving, powerful and totally in charge. This fictional tale shows how the Lord will often guide us through trials rather than keep them from happening. It shows that God answers prayers in unexpected ways. The parade of leopards, camels, tigers, crocodiles, baboons and Kodiak bears is quite cool.

Some ideas in the movie do not stick to the Bible. One line implies that God "lives in" all created things. Also, a scene downplays God's holiness and righteous judgment. In the movie, God explains that the decision to destroy all life on earth in Noah's day was an act of love, not wrath. Actually, it was both. Genesis 6:5-12 says that mankind's wickedness had pushed God to the brink. Being a God of holy character, He dealt with it harshly.

A couple of gross jokes, some bathroom humor and 10 misuses of God's name tarnish an otherwise family- friendly movie. The film also touches the heart with messages about family and faith that resonate because they contain an element of truth found in God's Word.

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