Oh, God! (1977)

*** out of ****

In the late 70s John Denver appeared to have the Midas Touch. He'd had a handful of number one hits, he had (controversially) won Country Music's Entertainer of the Year Award (prompting Charlie Rich to set fire to the winning ballot on stage) and with “Oh, God!” he successfully threw his hat into the acting ring. Hard to believe that only 7 years later his name would be such a scourge in the music industry that when he asked to be part of the “We Are the World” chorus, he was turned down flat.....

Denver plays Jerry Landers, a grocery store assistant manager who seems pretty happy with his life. He is happily married, has two nice kids and is well thought of by the brass at his job. He isn't a church-goer, but like most of us that aren't he's still a pretty nice guy who tries to get along with everyone.

One night just before going to sleep he finds a piece of mail with no return address saying he'd been granted an audience with God and giving a time and place for said meeting. Dismissing it as a joke, he carries on with his usual day instead of going to the meeting, only to find himself drawn to the meeting's location. When he discovers that he's on a floor in the building that doesn't exist, talking to the Almighty over the intercom, suddenly he comes to doubt everything he believes. God (played in a legendary role by George Burns) tells him that all he wants him to do is to spread the word – that humanity has everything it needs to have a wonderful world, if only we would use it as he intended. So Jerry tries to do as instructed.

What happens next is pretty true-to-life. At first dismissed as a nut and ignored, his insistence eventually gets him a brief mention in the paper and then the floodgates open. Anyone who doesn't think he's utterly insane is actually insane themselves, and his life is turned into a circus. But as his simple message starts to gain a little traction, not only does he have to face resistance from the media, his employers and family, the established religious community starts to try to face him down too. It seems that such a humble man with such a simple message could be viewed as a major challenge to standard religion.

Overall the film “Oh, God!” is pretty dated, though more ins a quaint way than in a bad one. There is even some special effects in it that could make you chuckle at their inncence. But the movie itself is still very solid family entertainment. It makes no effort at all to be a religious movie – God is simply a character in it. This is perhaps what I like most about "Oh, God!" – it isn't preachy, suggesting that man needs God or vice versa, and just tells a fun story about what might happen in the modern world if someone actually suggested they had talked to (and been to back from) God.

Denver's “nice guy” quality and Burns' straight-man delivery, coupled with an utterly likeable script make an enjoyable film for the entire family. And if it makes your kids ask a few questions about God or religion, so much the better.  Anything that can make a young person think gets a thumbs-up from me......