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.

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.

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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 Price Hunt: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For John Debney reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.23 (in 49 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.01 (in 42,775 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.