Rating: 
Summary: Second chances can be dangerous.
Review: Do you ever feel guilty for enjoying a film? Perhaps you're just a little reluctant to admit you like it... Okay, I admit it I like "Heaven Can Wait". And this, despite the fact that it stars Warren Beatty who's performances usually make me want to weep, even in comedies. All I can say is that he really shines in this film. Mind you, he is helped tremendously by the supporting cast.
I was particularly taken with Julie Christie in the role of Betty Logan, a passionate environmentalist who has taken on a mission to stop industrialist Leo Farnsworth, (Beatty), from destroying a small community in England. Little does she know that Farnsworth died a short time before she met him. Leo's earthly role had been assumed by an unlucky footballer by the name of Joe Pendleton, snatched from life by an overzealous angel during a road accident.
If any of this sounds familiar, you may be remembering the original use of the story in the 1941 film, "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", starring Robert Montgomery. Short of Farnsworth being named Bruce instead of Leo, there is little to distinguish these two versions from one another. Even so, I prefer the 1978 version. It just seems to have more charm, more innocence.
It also has a touch of class, mainly due to the presence of James Mason, in the role of Mr Jordan, who has to step in and try to make thinks right with the prematurely breathless Joe. Joe is understandably miffed at his mistreatment since he and his team were due to play in the superbowl, Joe's one dream. Mr Jordan offers Joe a number of alternative routes back into the mortal realm. Each path involves taking on the life of a soon to be dead person. Sadly, nothing short of a star quarterback seems to satisfy Joe who eventually settles for a test-drive on the Farnsworth model; rich, powerful but not particularly athletic.
From that point on we are taken on a twin journey. On the one hand Joe, despite his new-found wealth, still has super-bowl ambitions. The first step in his plan is to buy his old team. The other path is prompted by the passions of Betty Logan. Farnsworth has to straighten up his corporate image to impress his new lady-love. This is not an easy task given the long list of atrocities his board is quite happy to see continue.
I suppose some of the attraction in the story comes from its reversal of our common dreams. Usually we dream of leaving our lacklustre existence and jumping into the swimming pool of the rich and famous. In this case, Joe does get the pool but he just wants to get his old life back. He is too good-natured to be trapped by the false idolatry offered by money.
We have the fun of watching him struggle back into his old shoes and take his disbelieving associates with him. In fact, his old coach Max Corkle, (Jack Warden), is one of the hardest to convince but eventually becomes one of Leo's/Joe's biggest supporters. Which is typical of the film. The story is fun but it's the character's friendships that keep us watching.
Rating: 
Summary: "How you doin?"
Review: Great movie, poor treatment by Paramount.
Beatty plays Ram's quarterback Joe Pendleton, recovering from a knee injury as he works his way back into a fight for the starting job, then unfortunately rides his bike into a tunnel but doesn't ride out the other end. We soon find out that he was destined to survive the accident, but was "taken out" by practicing angelic entity played by Buck Henry before the laws of probability and outcome could determine Joe's fate. An appeal is issued to management in the form of the magnificent James Mason as Mr.Jordon, who is left with the task of finding Joe a suitable body to make his return to earth in after we find that Joe's body was cremated before we could work out all the red tape at Heaven's departure terminal.
In the very small "What If You Died and Came Back" genre this is hands-down the best of the bunch. Beatty gets credit for bulking up for the role and amazingly has no credibility issues with the casual audience as an aspiring pro QB with eyes on a shot at the Super Bowl. His natural comic timing and comfort zone chemistry with Julie Christy make this film a real keeper. The contributions by deadpan Charles Grodin and the freneticly delicious Dyan Cannon wiil have you howling in laughter.
Now the bad news. Paramount gets no props for this DVD release. The colors are there, but some scenes actually look like they'd been colorized with others blurry, dark, grainy, and out of focus. As if that weren't bad enough, the audio is frequently out of sync...you know, when the spoken words dont match with movements? I found that rather maddening in spots. The sound is OK but there's nothing but dialogue and clarinet music so who cares. Dont look for extras, they're not there.
5 solid stars for the movie, 2 pitiful stars for the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection!
Review: Hollywood tried to remake this classic with an inane, slapstick comedy that was probably out for three days. Movie moguls think they can take honest humor and replace it with loud, obnoxious nonsense, but it fails because people are smarter and wittier than they think. This is a great movie, with honest emotions. Warren Beatty and Julie Christie are perfection. See it and enjoy it. You can even show it to your youngsters because you don't have to worry about the language.
Rating:
Summary: Good movie I agree--But what's with Julie Christie's hair?
Review: I agree with the others that this is a charming movie, although I prefer the original "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" which it's based on, probably because I'm a fan of old movies. The story line has been summed up by other reviewers so I won't bother with that, but I just have to ask one thing since noone even mentioned it--Is it just me or was anyone else astonished at Julie Christie's hair? The usually poised and sleek-looking actress looks totally frowzy and unruffled here. I've never seen her like this before and I'm not surprised she decided never to appear like this again--it looks as if she stole a wig from Bozo The Clown and dyed it blond!
Rating:
Summary: A heck of a lot of fun.
Review: I really like this motion picture. The combo of Warren Beatty and Julie Christie has always pleased me (my absolute favorite of theirs--and one of my favorite films, period, is "McCabe & Mrs. Miller"). What I think is special about "Heaven Can Wait" is the great supporting cast. All are wonderful and wonderfully funny. Some of the dialogue between Diane Cannon and Charles Grodin is side-splitting. James Mason plays the sophisticated guide, Mr. Jordan, to a tee, while Buck Henry's dry wit hits with pin-point accuracy. Jack Warden is always solid and this film was certainly no exception. The only thing negative I can comment on is Julie Christie's role. Many parts of the screenplay failed her miserably, especially the scene where she was confronting Beatty (when he became Farnsworth) for the first time. As the scene played out, it felt like someone was running a fingernail across a chalkboard. Actually, Christie's role turned out to be minor compared to the others, and this is a shame. She is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses ever to grace the screen, and I felt her talents were wasted for much of the film. I also agree with the reviewer who didn't like her hair. Oh, well.... However, everything else is so good, and the performances so rich, that I can't help giving this movie a very solid 8 out of 10. If you want to watch a film with some real belly-laughs, this one doesn't disappoint. I think the last time I laughed this hard was when I watched "What's Up Doc?" (my type of humor, I guess....)
Rating:
Summary: A heck of a lot of fun.
Review: I really like this motion picture. The combo of Warren Beatty and Julie Christie has always pleased me (my absolute favorite of theirs--and one of my favorite films, period, is "McCabe & Mrs. Miller"). What I think is special about "Heaven Can Wait" is the great supporting cast. All are wonderful and wonderfully funny. Some of the dialogue between Diane Cannon and Charles Grodin is side-splitting. James Mason plays the sophisticated guide, Mr. Jordan, to a tee, while Buck Henry's dry wit hits with pin-point accuracy. Jack Warden is always solid and this film was certainly no exception. The only thing negative I can comment on is Julie Christie's role. Many parts of the screenplay failed her miserably, especially the scene where she was confronting Beatty (when he became Farnsworth) for the first time. As the scene played out, it felt like someone was running a fingernail across a chalkboard. Actually, Christie's role turned out to be minor compared to the others, and this is a shame. She is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses ever to grace the screen, and I felt her talents were wasted for much of the film. I also agree with the reviewer who didn't like her hair. Oh, well.... However, everything else is so good, and the performances so rich, that I can't help giving this movie a very solid 8 out of 10. If you want to watch a film with some real belly-laughs, this one doesn't disappoint. I think the last time I laughed this hard was when I watched "What's Up Doc?" (my type of humor, I guess....)
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Movie...
Review: I was six years old when I saw this film in the theatre and was instantly affected. When it was over, I knew my life's ambition. To become a saxophone playing football quarterback, and fall in love with a beautiful English girl. Well, I never played football or anything more musical than the kazoo, but I still love beautiful English girls, with Christie at the top of my list. I won't go into detail about the plot of the film, other reviewers have done that and mine would pale in comparison. I'll just say that this is a funny, easy film to like with Beatty giving his most mannered comedy performance, with able support by the always funny Grodin, the hit and miss Cannon (who's very on here) the enjoyable Warden and the great James Mason. Add to all this the fact that Julie Christie alone makes any film watchable for me, and I think it's clear that I'm not the most unbiased of reviewers. But still, I love this movie.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best....................
Review: In my view, one of the best films ever made. Not often reviewed as such, in part because it's a comedy (very few comedies win Oscars, as well). I've seen this film about twenty times on cable and never tire of it. It's well written, directed brilliantly by Buck Henry and the performances are impeccable. This is a movie about magic and even if you don't believe in angels, reincarnation, soul mates or other strange phenomena, this movie will win you over with its charm, humor and surprises. Watch for the scene where Warren Beatty is trying to convince Jack Warden that notwithstanding the physical evidence, he is actually an old friend -- it marks one of the greatest performances (by Warden) in film history.
Rating:
Summary: BEATTY'S BEST.
Review: Joe Pendleton is one of the most delightful and endearing characters of the past 3 decades. It's Warren Beatty's best performance pre-BUGSY and his best directing efforts, surpassing his work on both BUGSY and REDS. HEAVEN CAN WAIT is better than the original HERE COMES MR. JORDAN: It's better cast, better told and extremely heart warming...you ache when Pendleton is taken from earth twice (but not in the order you think would elicit the pain). I hope James Mason is waiting to greet me at the way station.
Rating:
Summary: BEATTY'S BEST.
Review: Joe Pendleton is one of the most delightful and endearing characters of the past 3 decades. It's Warren Beatty's best performance pre-BUGSY and his best directing efforts, surpassing his work on both BUGSY and REDS. HEAVEN CAN WAIT is better than the original HERE COMES MR. JORDAN: It's better cast, better told and extremely heart warming...you ache when Pendleton is taken from earth twice (but not in the order you think would elicit the pain). I hope James Mason is waiting to greet me at the way station.
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