The Man Who Sued God

2001
The Man Who Sued God
6.4| 1h37m| R| en| More Info
Released: 25 October 2001 Released
Producted By: New South Wales Film & Television Office
Country: Australia
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A lawyer becomes a fisherman from frustration. When his one piece of property, his boat, is struck by lightning and destroyed he is denied insurance money because it was “an act of God”. He re-registers as a lawyer and sues the insurance company and, as God’s representative, The Church.

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Reviews

bohicaranch Everyone seems to be taking this movie waaaaaaay too seriously. Billy Connolly is terrific and the story is wonderful. A great feel good movie and except for the non-stop obscenities, would be a great family film. Terrific writing and great delivery. It's not meant to be an academy award winning drama...it's a comedy for heaven's sake. I never even knew who Billy Connolly was, and now I'm a fan. He's irreverent and incredibly funny, kind of like a Scottish George Carlin. People are complaining about the end, but even though it's a little hokey, it's still enjoyable. If you want to watch a movie with an unbelievably bad ending, watch Russel Crowe in 3:10 to Yuma. Now there's a bad ending.
Neil Welch I wanted to like this more than I did.Using the comedy/drama form, this moderately engaging little movie poses some interesting question, and then fails to address them - or, more exactly, decides to opt out of presenting the audience with any conclusion. To some extent this is having your cake and eating it - you offend neither end of the theological debate. However, it left me feeling slightly short-changed.Among a number of plot points which creaked somewhat, I question Colin Friels' brother - ready to betray his brother for a promotion bribe one minute, and then taking up management of a class action against the briber/s the next.My biggest quibble, though, is with the casting of the two principals. Connolly, a very talented actor, played the whole thing with a degree of high amusement which I found highly improbable given the financial disaster which was staring him and his nearest and dearest in the face. I'm not sure whether this was his fault or the director's. And his broad Scots accent meant that Colin Friels had to adopt a Scots accent (native, apparently), which failed to convince throughout.And Judy Davies, never one of my favourite actresses, totally failed to convince in a role which demanded someone light and frothy. She plays angry and heavy very well, but does not appear to have the deftness of touch which this role demanded, pratfall into the sea notwithstanding.
Fat Freddy's Cat As a social comment, it didn't tell us much we didn't already know. Insurance companies are run by immoral sharks and will try every trick in the book to get out of paying a claim, lawyers are essentially venal and the law has little to do with justice and a lot to do with the depth of the protagonists' pockets, and established religions are run by pompous pontificators and whited sepulchres, so the whole shebang hasn't moved on much since the days of the Scribes and Pharisees. But it told us it in a sharply witty and deftly handled way. These are all amongst Billy's favourite social comments, and although he didn't pull too many punches, he showed the real power of cleverly directed humour in exposing the hypocrisies of the establishment.Some may claim Billy has himself become an establishment figure, and other reviewers here have been harsh on his failure to "ram home" the assault on the churches. I think we all know Billy's opinion on the Catholic church in which he was raised, but he chooses in this film to leave a little bit there for those who like to still hold on to the mysteries. However, he does lampoon the religious fanatics who consider that they and they alone have a hot-line to God and they are the sole custodians of absolute truth.The only spoiler for me was the attempted Scottish accent from Colin Friels. And I couldn't quite figure out the plot twist that had two Scots sons following their father into the old established family law business but happening to be doing so in Sydney???It isn't destined to ever be regarded as a great movie classic, but as a low budget piece of irreverent (!) Aussie fun and a great vehicle for Billy's comic talents and the terrific acting of Judy Davis, it was pretty much right on the money. 8/10
tunatomatoe This film's title attracted me already for a long time, but now I finally decided to rent it. And I wish I did it before. I already had a lot of respect for the writer(s) who came up with the idea for the film and specially came up with the title: 'The Man Who Sued God' tickled my curiosity. I never was more stimulated to see a film than by this title.The film is as refreshing as its title. Of course this is because of the absurd idea of suing God, but mainly because of the energetic and stimulating performance of Billy Connolly. I can't see how anyone could have played this role better than he. He's dynamic, intelligent and stealing the show with his charming appearance.It's a charming film and you would almost think it was based on true happenings. I don't even know for sure that it isn't. Although the film is very standard executed, the original subject and Billy Connolly make it interesting and as said, very refreshing!