Any movie that concerns religion runs the risk of organized opposition, and the dangers increase when the film in question takes a comedic point of view. Just ask Kevin Smith, whose Dogma received plenty of negative attention for its irreverent look at Catholicism.

Perhaps I was too young to notice but I don’t recall much controversy about 1977’s Oh, God! If the movie didn’t engender any conflict, that would probably result from its general niceness.

Unlike Smith, director Carl Reiner didn’t attempt anything particularly outrageous or challenging. That factor stands as both a positive and a negative in regard to Oh, God!, as while it meant that the movie reached a wide audience, it also left the final product as somewhat bland and inert.

Hard-working assistant manager of a southern California grocery store Jerry Landers (John Denver) finds a typed invitation from God to go to an interview. Though he initially dismisses this, some weird occurrences prompt him to go anyway.

There Jerry hears a voice on a speaker box that claims to be God, and this eventually leads him to meet a manifestation of God (George Burns) in person. God wants Jerry to spread his message, a mission that leads to a mix of complications.

This winds up with God on trial, an event that doesn’t come across as provocatively as it might sound. In fact, little about Oh, God! seems particularly pointed or compelling.

Despite the potentially controversial subject matter, God retains a decidedly low-key tone that lacks much of an edge. Not that I think the movie needed to be crude and confrontational, but it simply comes across as too innocuous and bland most of the time.

It doesn’t help that the 98-minute movie seems slow-paced. No, I don’t expect it to be hyperactively edited, so that’s not my concern.

It simply feels as though many scenes go on for too long. The movie’s premise appears excellent, but the execution relies on too many flimsily constructed sequences.

Some of these last forever and quickly wear out their welcome, especially when God and Jerry interact. Admittedly, these exist as the movie’s bread and butter, but they could use judicious cutting.

This means that the movie frequently becomes self-indulgent. For example, a segment that takes place on The Dinah Shore Show goes almost nowhere.

Yes, it conveys the public interest in Jerry’s claims and also their skepticism toward him, but we get that information over and over elsewhere. This scene plods along and adds almost nothing to the film, and it’s not alone.

On the positive side, I like Burns’ winningly subdued performance as God. He keeps a straight face the whole time and never adopts a winking tone, which is key to his success. He pulls off the role nicely and offers most of the film’s best moments.

Actually, God provides an excellent cast as a whole. In his first film, Denver remains the weakest link.

Denver does a decent job as Jerry, but his lack of experience comes across during his scenes with others. He simply fails to deliver the same level of complexity seen in his co-stars. Denver doesn’t harm the film, but he doesn’t elevate it either.

One of the film’s more pleasant surprises comes from Sorvino’s turn as Williams. Heavily based on goofball minister Ernest Angley, Williams is the movie’s cartooniest part, but Sorvino provides a solid take on the character nonetheless.

I’m so used to Sorvino in gangster roles that it’s weird to watch him do something so different. It’s fun nonetheless.

Despite my criticisms, I don’t think Oh, God! becomes a bad film. It posits some compelling questions about religion in modern life, and it features some good performances.

However, I think the movie feels like a TV show extended to feature length, as it meanders too frequently and often goes nowhere. It can seem pleasant at times, but it ultimately appears fairly bland.

Déjà vu: in 1977’s Oh, God!, Teri Garr plays a housewife whose husband engages on a mystifying and - to her, at least - disturbing quest that relates to seemingly supernatural sources. In 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Teri Garr plays a housewife whose husband engages on a mystifying and - to her, at least - disturbing quest that relates to seemingly supernatural sources.

Coincidence? Yeah, probably - the films came out too close together for one role to have resulted from the other.

Still, I found it interesting that she took on such similar parts, and even the characters’ names - Bobbie in God and Ronnie in Encounters - seem very similar. Bobbie’s more open-minded, though, unlike the colder and more dismissive Ronnie.

Oh, God! appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Across the board, the movie looked good.

Sharpness seemed solid, as the image consistently appeared pretty crisp and detailed. A few examples of softness manifested but the movie usually remained nicely distinct.

No issues with jaggies or shimmering occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt natural, and I saw no print flaws.

With a natural palette, the movie’s colors succeeded. I saw a lively set of tones that fared well.

Black levels also came across as fairly deep and rich, while shadows were appropriately heavy but not overly thick. This turned into a fine presentation.

Though dated, the film’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack held up well. Speech came across as reasonably distinct and accurate, and I heard no problems related to edginess or intelligibility.

Effects played a somewhat minor role in the film, but they seemed acceptably accurate, even though they lacked much punch. The movie’s music showed fairly good range, as the highs appeared clean and bright, and the score also demonstrated pretty decent bass response.

The mono mix did nothing spectacularly well. Nonetheless, it seemed like a good representation of the original material.

How did the Blu-ray compare to the 2002 DVD? The lossless audio seemed a bit cleaner and more robust than its predecessor, though the nature of the source limited growth.

Visuals demonstrated more obvious improvements, especially because the Blu-ray lost the DVD’s print flaws. With superior blacks, colors and definition as well, the Blu-ray delivered a nice step up in quality.

This Shout set includes old and new extras, and we find two separate audio commentaries. Also on the old DVD, the first features director Carl Reiner, writer Larry Gelbart, and actor Teri Garr.

All three sit together for this running, screen-specific track. This turns into a good but flawed piece.

Not too many empty spaces appear, but the commentary suffers from the nostalgia factor. Too often, the participants focus on their praise and enjoyment of the movie and they don’t bother to tell us much about the film.

However, the three maintain a nice rapport, and they seem to enjoy their little reunion. A fair number of facts pop up along the way.

We get a good idea how the film differed from the novel, and we learn some interesting bits about Burns, Denver, and other cast members. The commentary lacks a great deal of depth, but it seems reasonably entertaining, and fans of the film should enjoy it.

New to the Shout Blu-ray, we get a second commentary from film critic and theologian Dr. Donna Bowman. She provides a running, screen-specific view of the source novel and its adaptation, cast and crew, religious topics connected to the movie, a few production notes and her thoughts on the film.

Bowman occasionally provides some interesting insights, mainly related to changes from the book as well as theological subjects. However, for too much of the track, she simply narrates the movie, and that means this becomes a very spotty piece.

Back in 1977, singer/actor John Denver guest hosted The Tonight Show a few times, and the Blu-ray brings portions of two episodes. From September 29, 1977, we get a 27-minute, 51-second reel that includes Carl Reiner, and from October 3, 1977, we locate a segment that features Teri Garr and actor George Burns.

Of the two, the Reiner episode fares worst. Basically Reiner and Denver fluff each other the whole time, so we get tons of praise and next to zero useful material.

The Garr/Burns program works better. It also comes with a fair amount of happy talk, but it nonetheless feels more honest.

Garr presents an amusingly antsy presence, and Burns relies on his old vaudeville instincts to deliver funny bits. For historical reasons, I feel happy both segments appear, but only the October show brings us an engaging reel.

Spooky footnote: at one point during the September show, Denver discusses learning to fly and how much he loves it. Denver would die in a plane crash that occurred with him as pilot.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get seven radio spots.

A sizable box office hit in 1977, Oh, God! offers a moderately entertaining experience highlighted by a good cast. However, the movie seems slow-paced and plodding much of the time. The Blu-ray provides very good picture along with relatively solid monaural audio and an array supplements. I don’t care much for the film, but I like the fact it attempts to discuss some provocative issues and it manages these in a low-key manner that lacks excessive drama.

Note that this Blu-ray of Oh, God! appears only as part of a three-movie set. It also includes sequels Oh, God! Book II and Oh, God! You Devil.