Oh, God! (1977)

Oh God is an excellent movie. When I saw the movie when it was originally released, I loved it then. It wasn't until I saw it 25 years later that I realized what powerful messages this movie has. It is not just about making people aware of God, it is making people aware of the environment as well which is very important today. The shower scene where God appears is very significant and powerful. Really listen to what God has to say about what people are doing to the environment, it will really make you sit up and take notice and think. We need to do are part to help the environment. We need to be concerned. Another scene that is so important is when God is in the grocery store reading the cereal box and what he says about what we are doing to our children, chemicals, chemicals, chemicals. A must see movie. Pay attention and get the message. It is a fun movie too and will make you laugh, laughter is medicine, but really makes you think too. This is my all time favourite movie. I own the movie and have watched it many times and enjoy every time I see it.I love John Denver so that adds to it. John did a great job. He did a lot of good for the environment. A sad loss.

Fmovies: A very good movie with a nice message. It's not preachy, overly religious or anti-religious. It's more inspirational and shouldn't offend anyone.

George Burns is terrific as God taking the form of a kind old man. God (Burns) asks a man (John Denver) in the 1970s to relay His message to the world: that, despite the tough times, "it can work" if people get their act together. The man is put in the unenviable position of trying to convince people that he really is God's messenger. In the end, it's not about politics or who's right and who's wrong; it's a friendly reminder that we shape the world in which we live, and we can make it good again.

Carl Reiner's film seems like a fairly realistic (if comical) portrayal of the difficulties that would arise if God appeared to only one man in today's modern society. There's a satirical side to it. But the God in this film isn't concerned with who believes and who doesn't. He realizes He can't win over everybody, but He remains in good humor. He watches over the universe in a hands-off manner.

Personally I'm not very religious, but Burns is the kind of God I'd like. Great casting.

In terms of entertainment value, OH, GOD! might not be the *best* choice for a movie night, but I enjoyed it. I wouldn't want to watch it over and over again, but it's nice to check out once every so often. And I think it's definitely worth seeing once.

7/10

Something tells me this film would work a lot better if it was shot today; and by that I don't mean a remake, but if somehow we could transport the cast and crew (Reiner, Burns, Denver, et al) to 2004, let them shoot the film, and release it, it would be the super sleeper smash hit of the decade. A remake would fall flat on its face.

The story is quasi-original. The notion of a higher or supreme being asking one of us mortals to do his bidding is nothing new, but to place the gentle and warm spin on it, and to take that legend out of its biblical era context, and place it in (what was then) contemporary times, is really a stroke of genius.

Burns plays a grandfatherly God who is concerned, though not wrathful. This God is not Cecil B. DeMille's fire-and-brimstone God from "The Ten Commandments." Nor is Burns' God the detached entity that is less hands on than God's foes in "The Exorcist" or "Omen" series. In "Oh God" we have a creator who wants to instill a little reassurement to Earthbound souls. Burns' character is one with a need that must be fulfilled. But Burns' God doesn't go about it by creating apocalyptic scenarios to threaten nor coax mankind into the task. Instead this God approaches the problem with a more thoughtful plan. Veteran Vaudevillian George Burns' does a superb job portraying the Almighty, and does so with sublime humor and grandfatherly frankness.

Denver portrays an honest grocery store manager whose sole purpose is to satisfy his customers. That is until George Burns beckons him hither. What's even more amazing is the fact that, to the best of my knowledge anyway, Denver gives us an exceptionally convincing performance but with little professional experience. The Jerry Landers character he portrays is honest, thoughtful, earnest and full of conviction. Denver lets his own character shine in this performance.

The real genius of this film is that the comedy is very sedate while still being funny. The film doesn't try to be something more than what it already is. A film with God as a character could've gone anywhere, but Reiner doesn't take too many liberties with the material at hand. Instead he keeps film focused and even keeled, while tossing in good humorous bits to keep up the levity. Even so, please be warned, the laughs are spaced out. This is not a film filled with wall to wall gags. Both humor and overall energy are kept low to drive home the storie's message.

This is in comparison to a recent "reincarnation" of the God theme/film in "Bruce Almighty," which has often been compared to Reiner's 1977 work by commentators on this website. I finally saw "Bruce Almighty" recently, and where I found sections of it humorous it really didn't hold a candle to "Oh God." The theme was selfish, the character was selfish, the overall feel was typical 90's corporate art, with Jim Carry's absurdities thrown in for poor measure. This is largely because "Bruce Almighty" is really a different film, with a different premise, and regrettably (though not unexpectedly) botches most of the affair. "Bruce Almighty" satisfies a juvenile curiosity. "Oh God" is a soothing uplift, and, by contrast, is the better film.

"Oh God" doesn't have any direct and explicit sexual references, there're no body function jokes, nor obvious and readable plot points nor plot holes, un

Oh, God! fmovies. A film which is not only a wonderful comedy but one which amplified & interpreted my own experience. What I mean is: I was much taken by the theological points put into the mouth of God by the scriptwriters. I found myself thinking "what God is saying adds up for me. It's the kind of God I want to believe in".

John Denver made his film debut with this wonderful wholesome comedy. He plays an ordinary supermarket worker who is honest and straightforward. He has a loving wife and 2 kids. God, out of the blue, picks him to spread the Word. Everyone is sceptical as Jerry Landers (Denver) tries to make believers out of them. George Burns was a perfect choice to play the Almighty. John Denver doesn't sing in this film, but still comes off as an honest (if somewhat naive) person. The car he drives is definitely a 70's relic (the Pacer, I miss those!). Watching the scenes with just Burns and Denver strikes me as sad because they are no longer with us. The film is not too preachy (a plus in my book) and puts just a hint of humor in it all (like the courtroom scene).

Oh,God! is one movie I could see 1000 times and still be laughing. John Denver and George Burns were marvelous together and had a wonderful supporting cast around them.God coming to earth to give the message that He gave us the world and what is in it and that it is up to us to make it work is a wonderful message in this movie.This movie shows that the world lost A LOT when George Burns and John Denver died.This movie is funny without taking cheap shots at religion. I give it a rating of 10 out of 10. Considering that the 25th anniversary of this movie's original release will be in 2002,it would be wonderful if this movie was re-released theatrically then.