Oh, God! (1977)
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
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 course, knows him and likes him) and never doing anything out of the ordinary. That's why no one is... 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]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: George Burns, John Denver, Teri Garr, Paul Sorvino, Ralph Bellamy
DVD Info
Release:
Jul 9, 2002
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
- Single Side - Dual Layer
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - 1. Teri Garr - Star, Carl Reiner - Director, Jerry Weintraub - Producer
- Trailers - 1. OH GOD! BOOK II
- 2. OH, GOD! YOU DEVIL
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
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.
The result plays like an over-extended version of the Reiner/Mel Brooks 2000-Year-Old Man sketches.
An uneasy amalgam or inconsistent attitudes, without enough humor or zaniness to divert attention from its questionable premise.
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.
This wonderful comedy salutes human responsibility for making the world a better place and takes justifiable pot-shots at holier-than-thou hotshots.
Oh, God! salutes human responsibility for making the world a better place and takes justifiable pot-shots at holier-than-thou hotshots.
Somewhere deep down, I think we all hope that God turns out to be like George Burns.
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