...And God Spoke

A film review by Christopher Null - Copyright © 2003 Filmcritic.com

Arthur Borman's mockumentary doesn't have the stature of Spinal Tap or Best in Show, but it's a genuinely funny entry into what has become a rapidly tiring category.

...And God Spoke is a spoof about the making of a film (bad sign), a $10 million eponymous movie condensing the whole of the Bible into a feature film. Naturally, as mockumentaries demand, everything goes wrong. In the first half hour, Eve turns up with a full body tattoo, the shoot runs low on disciples, and Jesus gets cut from the film. Some of the film's moments are inspired: Namely Soupy Sales' appearance as Moses (and Lou Ferrigno vs. Andy Dick as Cain and Abel), plus a P.A.'s trunk where the film is discovered, covered in syrup. The producer and director -- Michael Riley and Stephen Rappaport -- are hysterical, deadpan and oblivious to the disaster in the making.

The weak part is the ending, where the joke is deflated and the film is revealed to be a huge cult hit. It's wishful thinking on behalf of director Arthur Borman (who would later go on to do story work on some of the worst of real reality TV shows and The Real Cancun) and it's just unnecessary. It's like Spinal Tap becoming a big hit at the end of that film -- it doesn't work, and it makes what's so funny -- the patheticness -- much less so.

That's a minor quibble, but it leaves you disappointed at a time when the film ought to be delivering its biggest belly laughs.

Aka The Making of '...And God Spoke'.

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Rating

3.5 out of 5 Stars

Cast and Crew

  • Director: Arthur Borman
  • Producer: Mark Borman, Richard Raddon
  • Screenwriter: Michael Curtis, Greg Malins
  • Stars: Michael Riley, Stephen Rappaport, Jensung, Daniel Tisman, Jay Edwards, Christy Taylor, Damara Reilly, Susan Rejba, Anna B. Choi, R.C. Bates, Josh Trossman, Victoria Lane, Chris Bonno, Ya Parulava, Soupy Sales, Elizabeth Kelly, Andy Dick, Lou Ferrigno, Eve Plumb
  • MPAA Rating: R