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Next Office cast member to fail in movies: John Krasinski

Kim Hollis: Steve Carell seemed to be a rising star due to the surprise success of The 40 Year-Old Virgin and his hit TV show The Office. Why do you think audiences weren't willing to see his latest outing?

Reagen Sulewski: It's something of a miracle, if you'll excuse the pun, that it got this big of an opening. Some jokes would have been a thoughtful inclusion in the commercials. You could tell they were getting really desperate by the end, showing the flood. Ironically, they had no faith in people.

David Mumpower: Again, it's all about perspective. This movie has opened $10 million larger than The 40 Year-Old Virgin did. The difference is that the latter film cost $26 million before marketing while the other one is reportedly right at $200 million. I don't think Carell deserves the blame for the way Evan Almighty has gone off the rails.

Joel Corcoran: I think it's because Steve Carell definitely appeals to fans of "adult humor," while this movie was marketed as a family comedy. Fans who really liked The 40-Year-Old Virgin probably aren't interested in a family comedy, and parents who love Carell's comedy still wouldn't think his comedy is "kid friendly."

Kim Hollis: Yeah, they just went out and made a comedy with one of the funniest guys in the business that turned out to be in no way humorous. I don't necessarily think you can blame Carell for bad material, especially when he probably thought this was a great concept when he signed on.

David Mumpower: Kim brings up a great point. I have been singing the praises of this production for a while now. I thought that capitalizing on Carell's ascension was a masterstroke on the part of Universal. The problem is that they didn't have a good idea for the movie itself, just its existence.

Reagen Sulewski: I touched on it a bit earlier, but that's sort of Oedekerk and Shadyac's thing - to come up with a concept but not really have a handle on the execution. Occasionally they get away with it, but they're two of the biggest hacks in the business, in my opinion.

After The Number 23, Jim Carrey might be regretting his no sequels policy

Kim Hollis: Evan Almighty is the third instance wherein a Jim Carrey sequel not starring Jim Carrey has greatly disappointed. What is it about Carrey that elevates otherwise forgettable premises into box office gold?

Tim Briody: I'm not exactly sure, but the guy deserves a lot of credit for choosing not to do these sequels, especially the Dumb & Dumber and Mask ones, which should have been torpedoed immediately once he passed.

Kim Hollis: I have to say I respect Carrey's No Sequels policy since the days of Ace Ventura.





Reagen Sulewski: Eternal Sunshine 2 could work, though...

David Mumpower: Anyone who has a quantifiable answer to that question is worth a lot of money in the industry. Dumb and Dumber and The Mask both sounded better with him than without; meanwhile, their sequels were clearly disasters. Evan Almighty is not that cut and dried although the results are hard to dispute.

Reagen Sulewski: I'm not sure if it's Jim specifically, but there's a pretty obvious "we're just doing this for the money" vibe from all three of these films.

Kim Hollis: Aren't they always?

Reagen Sulewski: Not so blatantly.

David Mumpower: Reagen does touch on a good point, though. There isn't any real difference between these and those awful straight-to-video Disney animations sequels.

Kim Hollis: Which Disney will no longer do! Okay, maybe it's not all about the money.

David Mumpower: Right now, Universal is asking, "What money?"

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