Oh, God!

Directed by Carl Reiner, Oh, God! follows John Denver’s mild-mannered Jerry Landers as he’s approached by god (George Burns) and asked to spread the word of his message to the modern world. It’s an oddball premise that’s employed to watchable yet entirely forgettable effect by Reiner, as the filmmaker, working from Larry Gelbart’s script, delivers a lackadaisical and aggressively laugh-free comedy that does, at least, benefit from its affable atmosphere and Burns’ engaging, entertaining performance. (Burns’ work here certainly stands in sharp contrast to Denver’s often astonishingly bland, middle-of-the-road turn as the one-dimensional protagonist.) There’s little doubt, certainly, that Oh, God!‘s mild success is due in no small part to the escalating nature of its narrative structure, as Jerry increasingly finds himself thrown into amusingly over-the-top situations and scenarios – with everything building towards a climactic courtroom sequence that ensures the picture concludes on a relatively satisfying note. It’s clear, ultimately, that Oh, God! has little to wholeheartedly capture and sustain the viewer’s interest throughout its sluggish running time, and yet the movie is, at the very least, an affable enough endeavor that isn’t as painful as one might’ve anticipated.

**1/2 out of ****