A holiday extravaganza, a feel-good movie of the year, Dear God is also the biggest load of crap to hit the screens in a long, long time. Greg Kinnear plays a con man/postal worker who takes it upon himself to start answering letters addressed to God. His plan is to commit mail fraud, but Kinnear's a cad with a heart of gold, and pretty soon he is busy helping the theologically challenged, good-deeding like there's no tomorrow. It's a dumb premise, but by no means the worst thing about the movie. The acting is atrocious, the camerawork is on a par with America's Funniest Home Videos, and the film seems to have been edited by a lumberjack.

The title should be spoken with a grave shake of the head. Those involved in this project must have known how bad Dear God is. That's what makes it so offensive: release the thing early, figuring it will fare badly at the cinema, then sit back and wait for the holiday video rentals to kick in. Dear God is an affront not only to our intelligence but to human dignity. Call me an extremist -- I hereby issue a fatwa on the heads of everyone involved. At the Copley Place, the Fresh Pond, and the Circle and in the suburbs.