It's too easy to dismiss The Man Who Sued God as 'just' a lighthearted romantic comedy. Any genre can be elevated to the level of genius, if it's done this well.Starting with a brilliant premise - challenging the stupid 'act of God' terminology used by the insurance industry - this film explores the philosophical ramifications. Is there a God, and is He responsible for random misfortunes? Does organized religion really believe what it preaches? And how does it respond to a logical, even legal, challenge to its dogma? At the same time, the film follows an eccentric but extremely likable character, played by the inimitable Billy Connolly, as he seeks his own form of redemption. And it adds a quirky, yet equally likable news reporter, whose views are drastically different from Connolly's.It's a formula, to be sure, but it's worked out brilliantly. (One comparison that comes to mind is Adam's Rib, which uses the law and some very witty dialog to explore marital relationships.) And the ending is absolutely perfect, resolving all the questions with just the right mixture of theology and enlightened common sense. Instead of a heavy-handed Hollywood resolution, we get something more delicate and subtle, but also far more satisfying.The Man Who Sued God manages a difficult feat - being both hilariously funny and deeply thought-provoking. It's a near-perfect film, and a highly enjoyable one as well.

Aside from it's flaws i did enjoy this movie a great deal, the story builds nicely and Billy Connolly holds together the plot despite the delicacy of the premise and the flaws in the script.As a comedy it is well worth watching, it's crammed with subtle humour throughout; it's also enjoyable as a romance, again it's subtle, but it's steady and quite heartwarming, despite the clichés.The story itself is very intriguing, it successfully provokes your thoughts and captures your imagination with interesting questions; but it fails to draw sufficient conclusion at the finale, and it did feel like a bit of a let down.6/10 It's still worth watching.

As a social comment, it didn't tell us much we didn't already know. Insurance companies are run by immoral sharks and will try every trick in the book to get out of paying a claim, lawyers are essentially venal and the law has little to do with justice and a lot to do with the depth of the protagonists' pockets, and established religions are run by pompous pontificators and whited sepulchres, so the whole shebang hasn't moved on much since the days of the Scribes and Pharisees. But it told us it in a sharply witty and deftly handled way. These are all amongst Billy's favourite social comments, and although he didn't pull too many punches, he showed the real power of cleverly directed humour in exposing the hypocrisies of the establishment.Some may claim Billy has himself become an establishment figure, and other reviewers here have been harsh on his failure to "ram home" the assault on the churches. I think we all know Billy's opinion on the Catholic church in which he was raised, but he chooses in this film to leave a little bit there for those who like to still hold on to the mysteries. However, he does lampoon the religious fanatics who consider that they and they alone have a hot-line to God and they are the sole custodians of absolute truth.The only spoiler for me was the attempted Scottish accent from Colin Friels. And I couldn't quite figure out the plot twist that had two Scots sons following their father into the old established family law business but happening to be doing so in Sydney???It isn't destined to ever be regarded as a great movie classic, but as a low budget piece of irreverent (!) Aussie fun and a great vehicle for Billy's comic talents and the terrific acting of Judy Davis, it was pretty much right on the money. 8/10

Firstly, I did enjoy 'The man who sued God'. Billy Connolly is excellent, his wit and charm is on display throughout the film and it is very, very, funny, most of the time.Unfortunately it is slightly too long and there are a few bits that could have been quite easily cut without harming the story. Billy seems to spend an awful lot of time mooning around churches and the 'divine intervention' bit is embarassingly bad and entirely unnecessary. Quite frankly, whoever came up with this scene should be shot!However having said that the film does have many qualities. The scenery is fantastic and the cast are generally excelent. Judy Davis is very good as the journo who takes an interest in Connolly's case. She strikes some nice romantic sparks of Connolly who is in great, swearing, ranting mode throughout. Colin Friels is also pretty good as Connolly's brother and Wendy Hughes is nice as the prickly but understanding ex-wife.I can't imagine many Jews would be too pleased with the portrayal of the Rabbi "So, we just prove there is no God, ...who cares!" seems to be his attitude, but generally the film is pretty amusing with an interesting premise.As I say there is at lease one totally shoddy scene and some unnecessary wandering that could have been fixed by a decent editor but still, if not a classic, still a genuinely funny film and well worth seeing.By the way Connolly gives a fantastic (and quite different) acting performance as an ex-con artist in the Debt Collecter (1999). Get a hold of this Scottish thriller if you are a Connolly fan as it is absolutely brilliant.