"What if God was one of us..."      

DEAR GOD (PG) 

Directed by Garry Marshall and starring Greg Kinnear, Dear God is the story of Tom Turner, a sweet-talking, small-time con artist who's never played it straight. One scam after another is Turner's life, as he skillfully talks money out of his unsuspecting victims.  Then, one day, the unspeakable occurs: Turner gets busted and is sentenced to either jail or (get this) finding a "real job" and keeping it for one year.  

So-o-o-o, Tom gets a job in the Dead Records center of the Post Office, where he notices all this mail that's being sent to God (and Elvis, and the Easter Bunny, and so on).  Tom gets curious one day and decides to read one of the letters to God, and by sheer mishap manages to answer that letter.  Well, his co-workers pick up on this and decide that they'd all like to continue answering these "Dear God" letters...and then...and so...and after that...and finally...

Oh, my God!!!!  This has got to be one of the weakest films I've had the displeasure of viewing this year (and I'm writing this in November!).  What could have been a charming, funny, and even touching story turns out predictable, unengaging, and quite un-funny in almost all respects.  With the exception of Tim Conway's character Dooley, all the characters in this film are either completely flat or unbelievably annoying.  The dialog is uninteresting, the few courtroom scenes are foolish, and the cameos...well, I won't get started on the cameos.  There's a lot wrong with this film, which is surprising given Garry Marshall's track record.  You can't win 'em all, I suppose...my advice: steer clear of this movie.

IMPRESSIONS

Okay, I will get started on the cameos...: Tony Danza, Elvira, David Hasselhoff, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Garry Marshall himself, and ex-attorney Christopher Darden...and that's just the ones I noticed.  Tacky.

Responses from cyberspace -- thanks for the input, folks!

jhb@awod.com gives this movie a  rating.  "Okay so it wasn't the world's greatest flick.  The cameos were a bit much and the characterization could have used a little help, but you have to cut the cast some slack with a turkey of a plot like that one...it could have been far worse.  Tim Conway was definitely the best character in the film but you have to give Greg Kinnear some credit...he did give it one heck of a good try.  Maybe he's just not quite ready to carry a film on his own yet, but with a little more experience he could do it.  On the whole the film was lacking in any consistency...but a good way to waste a couple of hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon." (11/17/96) (Okay, I'll admit Greg Kinnear wasn't completely flat...but still...)

JRobin0007@worldnet.att.net gives this film  stars.  "I was really surprised with this movie, I really liked it.  Think everyone in the movie was great.  Tim Conway and Greg Kinnear were perfect, this is one of the few movies that I would not change anything about, and best of all it has a happy ending.  We need more movies like this." (11/20/96) 

annette@pathway.com gives this movie a  rating.  "Granted, it was not one of the best movies of the year, but it was entertaining.  I was mesmerized by one of the songs in the movie though and cannot find out if there's a soundtrack or not.  It played in the background and may have been titled "Dear God."  Any clue who sang it?"  (11/20/96) (One of the songs on this film was entitled "Dear God", and it was sung by Midge Ure.  I don't know if there's a sountrack for this movie or not, but if not this song is available on the album If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure and Ultravox...the album's pretty good--worth buying...)