Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #343
Written 6/5/03, Revised 3/9/09
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Buy it... if you want most of the songs you remember from the film, or if
you're a serious collector of John Debney's safe, lightly dramatic orchestral
writing.
Avoid it... if you are hoping for a score that could lift you out of your
seat and help you see the light, in which case Debney's Evan Almighty
might be a better choice.
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| Debney |
Bruce Almighty: (John Debney) A few years after the fact, it
was hard to believe that Bruce Almighty was indeed the film that knocked
The Matrix Reloaded off its #1 box office perch much sooner than expected.
Despite the same old Jim Carrey comedy routine, a flood of advertising and
audiences hungry for slapstick laughs helped the film excel to an unexpectedly
strong performance in theatres. The film's premise is one that caused people
throughout the world to protest the production, likely another reason why so much
attention was drawn to it. Moral citizen representatives argued that Carrey was an
illogical, irresponsible, and stupid choice to serve as God on Earth (that's the
point of the film!) while Christian organizations pounded the film for other
obvious reasons (blasphemy!). Nevertheless, Bruce Almighty reunited the team
that brought audiences Ace Ventura and Liar Liar, eventually spawning
a less successful spin-off in the form of Evan Almighty four years later.
The latter two of those productions received fluffy, lightweight scores from John
Debney, who had been producing work of this limited scope for several years. Light,
urban comedy music of precisely the kind heard in Bruce Almighty had become
a staple of his career, often judged by how obviously it emulated the temp track of
the film's post production process. Most film music fans who have heard Debney's
more intense action and horror work pay little attention to Debney's comedies, and
yet, it is his prolific involvement in such smaller-scale projects that lands him
on the covers of industry magazines. The good news for Debney fans in the case of
Bruce Almighty is that his output for the film is not a continued beating to
death of the sound that you heard in The Tuxedo the previous year or
countless other extremely tired concepts. Instead, Bruce Almighty showcases
Debney's more listenable, delicate side, lending a genuine heart that doesn't
constantly remind you of half a dozen other scores. It doesn't exhibit extended
sequences of the flashy, over-the-top faux-epic material that would attract
listeners to his music for Evan Almighty, however.
The contributions by Debney to
Bruce Almighty are
somewhat limited by song use and a finite number of non-slapstick scenes in which
to project the more serious, thoughtful side of the film (if one truly exists).
Interestingly, Debney dismisses his outwardly slapstick style of composing in
favor of a dramatic, pseudo-religious tone throughout the score. His music is
subdued in volume, without an orchestral representation of an exploding fire
hydrant or a wildly blowing woman's dress. This restraint is partly because many
of the funnier scenes in the film were handled by the music supervisor for the
project, who inserted an array of God-related songs into those scenes. Debney's
portion, however, is appealing in its consistency, raising memories of
The
Princess Diaries in its sensitive personality. Despite using a full orchestra
and light choir, the themes he presents are usually somber string affairs that,
in their chord progressions, often sound like James Horner's
Bicentennial
Man (or similar music) in construct. The rising piano theme at the heart of
the score may curiously remind some listeners of Alan Silvestri's
Cast
Away in particular. It won't lift you out of your seat and help you see the
light, but it's more than decent material. The commercial album, unlike the
hideous Debney and song compilation album for
The Replacements not long
before, is well balanced between seven popular God-related songs and fifteen
minutes of Debney's material (separated in two sections, thankfully). The songs
are generally consistent in style, with a few blockbuster picks from a few years
prior (highlighted by the 1995 song "One of Us" by Joan Osborne), and among them
is the gospel hit "The Power," which was heard prominently in the previews for
the film (and featuring that famous and entertainingly ridiculous
Russian-flavored dialogue at its outset). The whole package isn't going to turn
any heads in the soundtrack collecting community, but it will make an excellent
find in used form. The composer did quickly produce a score-only promotional
album for
Bruce Almighty that doubles the tracks but offers largely
redundant music. Overall, Debney continued rolling with confidence in his
comfortable comedy-scoring career, and his fans should be mildly pleased with his
effort, as well as the relevant selection of songs on the retail album.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check:
For John Debney reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.33
(in 56 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.1
(in 49,960 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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