Oh, God!

Plot

God (George Burns) appears as a kindly old man to Jerry Landers (John Denver), an assistant supermarket manager. After a few failed attempts in trying to set up an "interview," God tells Jerry that he has been selected to be His messenger to the modern world, much like a contemporary Moses. Timidly at first, Landers tells his wife (Teri Garr), children and a religion editor of the Los Angeles Times of his encounters with God and soon becomes a national icon of comedic fodder.

Jerry soon appears on television with Dinah Shore and describes the look God takes when he encounters him. The next day, after Jerry is stranded from a car breakdown, God appears as a taxi driver to take Jerry home, where they are met by a bunch of chanting "religious nuts." Before he disappears, God consoles Jerry that he has the "strength that comes from knowing."

Skeptical at first, Landers finds his life turned upside down as a group of theologians attempt to discredit him by challenging him to answer a series of written questions in Aramaic while locked in a hotel room alone to prove God is contacting him directly. To Jerry's relief after an agonizing wait, God, working as room service, delivers food to Jerry and answers the questions. After being sued for slander by a charismatic preacher that God directed Jerry to call a "phony," Jerry decides to prove his story in a court of law.

Jerry argues that if God's existence is a reasonable possibility, then He can materialize and sit in the witness chair if He so chooses. At first, God fails to appear and the judge threatens to charge Jerry with contempt for "what you apparently thought was a clever stunt." Jerry argues that when everyone waited for a moment to see what would happen when he raised the mere possibility of God making a personal appearance in the courtroom, that proved that He at least deserves the benefit of the doubt, although given that a plaintiff in an American civil lawsuit needs only prove his/her case by a preponderance of the evidence in order to win, the mere establishment of reasonable doubt (including merely establishing that a given doubt is reasonable) is not enough to guarantee a defense verdict.

Suddenly, without opening the doors, God appears and asks to be sworn in, concluding the procedure with "So help me Me." "If it pleases the court, and even if it doesn't please the court, I'm God, your honor."

God provides some miracles, first in the form of a few rather impressive card tricks for the judge. Then, to help the people believe, he leaves the stand, walks a few steps and, with everyone watching, literally disappears before their eyes. His disembodied voice then issues a parting shot: "It can work. If you find it hard to believe in Me, maybe it will help to know that I believe in you."

Sometime later, after hearing the ringing of a public telephone, Jerry meets up with God once again. God states he's going on a trip to spend some time with animals. Jerry expresses worry that they failed, but God compares him to Johnny Appleseed, saying he was given the best seeds and they'll take root. Jerry then says he has lost his job and that everybody thinks he's a nut, but God assures him that there are other supermarkets and that he's in "good company." God had said to Jerry earlier: "lose a job; save a world." God gets ready to leave and says that he will not be coming back. Jerry then asks what if he needs to talk with him. God says to him "I'll tell you what, you talk. I'll listen." He then disappears. Jerry smiles as God departs.

Reception

Oh, God! garnered both critical acclaim and box office success upon its release.

Box office

The film was released on October 7, 1977 in 198 theaters and earned $1.9 million on its opening weekend. It ultimately grossed $51,061,196 domestically, making it the sixth highest-grossing film of 1977.

Critical reception

The film was well received by critics and was regarded by many as one of the best films of 1977, including Gene Siskel, who placed it on his top 10 list for the year. Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of possible 4, praising the casting of Burns and Denver and noting that Oh God! struck the right tone by avoiding both pious religious platitudes and "cheap shots" about faith.

The film holds a 71% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards and nominations

Larry Gelbart's screenplay received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and a Saturn Award nod for Best Writing. The screenplay also won the Writers Guild award for Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium.

Oh, God! was also awarded two Saturn Awards for Best Fantasy Film and Best Actor for George Burns. It received an additional nomination for Carl Reiner's direction.