It is a post-feminist film. No, it is a post-post-post feminist film. No, let's face it. In "Bruce Almighty," Hollywood has produced its first PRE-feminist film in 30 years. Jim Carrey is Jimmy Stewart with body function jokes. Jennifer Aniston is just plain Doris Day.
As Grace, Jennifer is the adorably blond good girl who works with children, volunteers for her community, cooks (!) for her boyfriend, and wants nothing more than to settle down, get married and make babies with the man she loves. "Bruce Almighty" even features that old Hollywood standby -- a sexual villainess who is (surprise!) a brunette and a career girl.
Can you still do this in Hollywood? Won't they take away your movie-making license? The amazing thing is the dusty old formulas, trotted out and updated, apparently still work. Feminism, schmeminism. It's at $135 million bucks and counting. Ka-ching.
Of course, good things do not last forever. Maybe "Bruce Almighty" is not the start of a new trend to old-fashioned movies. After raking in $85 million its first weekend out, "Bruce Almighty" was dethroned last weekend ...
... by "Finding Nemo," the story of a devoted father fish desperately seeking to save his motherless son.
"Bambi," anyone?