Product Details

• Actors: John Denver, George Burns, Teri Garr, Donald Pleasence, Ralph Bellamy
• Directors: Carl Reiner
• Writers: Avery Corman, Larry Gelbart
• Producers: Jerry Weintraub
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: August 2, 1993
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302816246
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,869 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Carl Reiner directed this sweet comedy about the Man Upstairs visiting Earth in the form of a funny little guy (George Burns). John Denver is the good man chosen to be God's contact in the modern age--and like an Old Testament prophet, Denver's character pays the price by being ridiculed and faced with criminal charges. Denver is a warm presence, but the film is entirely in Burns's court. Reiner feeds him lines that come out of Burns' mouth like stage patter, and it's no wonder he got a huge career boost from this film in the winter of his life. Except for some courtroom stuff in the third act--where Reiner inadvertently cheapens the movie with editing tricks to suggest "miracles"--Oh, God! is just fine. (It's certainly better than its two perfunctory sequels, Oh God! Book II and Oh God! You Devil.) --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling View of a Very Personable God, September 9, 2003

By 

Jennifer B. Barton "Beth Barton" (McKinney, Tx) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oh, God! (DVD)

When granted an interview with God, John Denver - an assistant manager at Food World, thinks that it is a practical joke by one of his friends. When the invitation turns up again in an unexpected place, it gets his attention - even though he doesn't believe in God.

George Burns plays wonderfully as God and the ensuing scenes where he convinces Denver that he is who he says he is have an enduring and endearing quality. His message is simple. God is alive. God cares. We have been given everything we need to make it work - and it can, if we want it to. Convincing the world, however, is another matter. From the religious editor at the LA Times who thinks Denver is just another fruitcake to Denver's boss at Food World who is offended that Denver would suggest that God would pick an unbelieving assistant manager instead of him, a man who has prayed with Billy Graham, no less, all the personalities come out. After an appearance on Dinah Shore, spaced out weirdos show up on his lawn and harass his kids and wife. Finally, a panel of religious experts agree to give Denver a set of questions that he could not possibly answer (they are written in Aramaic). After completing the questions, Denver delivers his package and a few choice words from God to a stereotypical televangelist (aka "God's Own Quarterback" - having delivered the benediction at this year's Superbowl). The film finally culminates in a courtroom scene where Burns, as God, gives a powerful delivery.

This film has some of the best writing. Burns has many humorous lines - it IS a comedy - but he also has some pretty profound and meaningful lines. In an obvious reference to the film The Exorcist, he comments on how easy it is for people to believe in the devil. But not God. He says that what we have here is some of his best work, that we should take care of it and appreciate it. He says that he knows how hard it can be in these troubled times to believe in God but, if it helps, we should know that he believes in us.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars CULT MOVIES 40, February 2, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oh God [VHS] (VHS Tape)

40. OH! GOD! (comedy, 1977) Jerry (John Denver) is an assistant-manager for a produce store. He's an honest man who has a wife and 2 kids. Just your normal kind of guy that is until God (George Burns) requests an audience with him. He has picked Jerry to carry his message of good will to an increasingly pessimistic world. But Jerry finds that people are difficult to convert, he even has trouble trying to make his family understand that God appears to him as a kindly old guy. His faith remains strong until his call starts to slowly filter through.

Critique: A surprise box-office hit when first released, it spawned other sequels that proved interesting ('OH! GOD! BOOK 2', 'OH! GOD! YOU DEVIL'). 81 year old George Burns shines as the perennial God, a role that he played with sweet abandonment. His deliveries of lines are perfectly executed. This God seems to have an answer for everything: on creating the world he quips; "to tell you the truth I thought about it for 6 days and did the whole thing in 1". What's most interesting is that the film takes an unbiased, non-religious look at our Creator. This God doesn't believe in religions or its leaders, and sees "human suffering" as being our fault (not his) since we perpetrate the acts. No wonder the very simple themes and in-jokes appealed to so many.

QUOTE: Jerry: "Sometimes, now and then, couldn't we just talk?" God: "Tell you what, you talk I'll listen."

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great movie, August 3, 2000

By 

Simon Gifford (St. Albans, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: "Oh, God!" [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In this movie God (played by George Burns) chooses a supermarket assistant manager called Jerry Landers (the late John Denver) to try and persuade a town of non-believers that He is alive and kicking, and spread the Gospel. Jerry has a tough time convincing people that he really has seen the Almighty (even he thinks he is having a joke played on him at first) which spawn some nice comic situations, like trying to tell the audience of a TV chat show what he has seen.

I really enjoyed this movie because while it is undeniably funny with some good lines provided by Burns and great chemistry between him and John Denver on screen - it is also very thought provoking. It makes some good points about religion and how we can perceive God - He can be whatever we want Him to be. ("I`m coming at you in a way you can understand" says Burns to Denver).

I think anyone would enjoy this movie. It has great comic performances, and John Denver proves his talents weren`t just confined to singing.

Highly recommended.