(2013-05-09 07:36:54)

Great Film

This review is from: Heaven Can Wait (DVD) I very much enjoyed this film, and was grateful to find it on-line since I could not find it locally.

Sheila-12

(2013-05-08 16:08:04)

Did I watch the wrong movie?

I have seen worse movies, but I've never seen a movie this bad get awaywithit so cleanly! The script was hokey and predictable. The plot hadembarrassingly large holes. There was no logic, and nothing to make mecareabout the main characters. I found myself hoping that Dyan Cannon's andCharles Grodin's supporting roles would suddenly grow bigger, because theywere the only interesting part of the entire film. Even the score wasawful. There is nothing that could make me recommend this movie toanyone.Do yourself a favor and see one of the many other films ("Big", "Dave","Heart and Souls") that put the same gimmick to much better use.

(2013-05-01 11:40:31)

Still in my top ten

This movie has it all--fantasy, humor, great script, charming actors, and a goosebump and tear-inducing ending. Beatty's best without any doubt and one of the top two or three in its genre. A great date movie, too. Eye candy for both sexes, lots of laughs, and snuggles at the end. Enjoy.

(2013-05-01 05:17:35)

BEATTY'S BEST.

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.

Eumenides_0

(2013-04-29 18:04:59)

Humor and Great Acting Saves an Incoherent Story

We don't hear a lot about Warren Beatty these days. He's been away fromfrom Hollywood for a decade now. But once upon a time he made andstarred in amazing movies – Reds, Bulworth, The Parallax View, DickTracy. Heaven Can Wait is a landmark in his career because it marks thefirst time he wrote, acted, directed and produced a movie. And it turnsout it's a fun, good movie.Using the 1941 movie Here Comes Mr. Jordan as its basis, Beatty's movietells the story of Joe Pendleton (Beatty), a football player who istaken to Heaven before his time. This bureaucratic mistake forces Mr.Jordan (James Mason), the heavenly director in charge of sending eachsoul to their final destination, to find a temporary body for Joe toinhabit while he looks for one that Joe can spend the rest of his lifein. Things get more complicated because Joe died on the same day helearned he was going to play for the L.A. Rams, his greatest dream, andhe wants a body that will be in shape for him to be in the finals.The movie gets going when Joe is put in the body of Farnsworth, amillionaire recently poisoned and drowned in the bathtub by his wife,Julia (Dyan Cannon), and his secretary Tony (Charles Grodin). Nothingbeats Julia's reaction when she sees her husband placidly walk into theliving room as if nothing had happened. Trying to kill him againbecomes a running gag through the movie and Grodin and Cannon pull offhilarious performances as a pair of greedy, scheming murderers,paranoid about whether or not the millionaire knows they're trying tokill him.Putting a simple guy like Joe in the body of a millionaire also allowsthe movie to make some jokes about the business world. In a memorablescene, after inviting several reporters to a private meeting ofstockholders, Joe uses football as a metaphor to how business should berun, leaving the stockholders completely baffled. Farnsworth's seedybusinesses also brings Joe close to Betty (Julie Christie), anenvironmental activist. To the shock of his partners, he starts showinga lot of concern about the harm his company may be doing to people.All this strange behavior is usually chalked up to the eccentricitiesof a rich man. And there's nothing more eccentric than buying the L.A.Rams so Joe can play in the finals. After convincing his formertrainer, Max (Jack Warden), that he's back, Joe starts training untilfate intervenes again in a way he wasn't expecting.There's almost nothing wrong with Heaven Can Wait; that's not to sayit's a great movie; but for what it tries to be – a lovely fantasycomedy/romance – it's very good. There's nothing pretentious or overlyambitious about it; Beatty and his crew and actors just want to make anentertaining movie and that's what it is. The chemistry between theactors never fails to be felt in each scene – whether it be between theenergetic Joe and the serene Mr. Jordan, between Julia and Tony intheir murder plots, in Max and Joe's friendship, or in Joe and Betty'sromance, the actors connect with and compliment each other instead ofjust delivering their lines.The movie has some storytelling problems towards the end: first eventsstart being rushed to the finale instead of being given some room todevelop, and then the finale contradicts the movie's premise. It makesthe movie end in a pretty downbeat way, not that I dislike downbeatendings, but I prefer them when they come naturally. This imperfectnote, however, isn't enough to ruin what is otherwise a well-acted andentertaining movie.

Idocamstuf

(2013-04-29 12:09:08)

Good Stuff

This is one of the better lightweight comedies of the 1970's, its aremakeof an older film. A terrific cast, screenplay, and characters make thisafilm well worth seeing. Just sit back and relax, youre likely to enjoyit.8 out of 10.

bcolquho

(2013-04-22 16:15:41)

I saw this back in 1981

The movie, not to be confused with the 1943 one of the samename, is a remake of the 1941 classic Here Comes Mr. Jordan which I sawon PBS a few years later but that's another review. In the beginning wemeet Joe Pendleton, (like the clothing line,) a quarterback for the LosAngeles Rams, (this was back when the Rams were in Los Angeles and theCardinals were in St. Louis,) who has a chance to quarterback his teamto the Superbowl. He also has a hobby. He plays the clarinet to calmhimself down. One day Joe's out riding his bike when he's involved in aminor traffic accident with a ruthless millionaire. Unfortunately, Joedies in the accident, but he wasn't supposed to. An overeager angeltook him to heaven before his time. He meets the head angel, Mr.Jordan. Mr. Jordan says that he has to be returned to earth. Butttttthere's one major problem. He doesn't have a body to return to earthin. What happened? His body was creamated.. What's an angel, or forthat matter, a disembodied quarterback, to do? He has to bereturned to earth. Those are the orders from the Man Upstairs. Thatbrings about another problem. How can he return to earth? Promblemsolved. There's a body available. That of the sameruthless millionaire who almost killed him the first time. It seemsthat his wife and accountant, whom the accountant was banging, hadkilled him to get their hands on his money. So when Mr. Nasty comesback to life, they're surprised. He then says that he wants to buy theRams so he can lead them to the Superbowl. As Joe iswalking up the tunnel into the Coliseum, he's met by Mr. Jordanagain and told that they'll see him again on the date he wasoriginally scheduled to die on. As he takes the field, you see hisclarinet on a stool.

Movie_Muse_Reviews

(2013-04-22 00:39:07)

Writing derails an original story that never has enough time or strength to recover

"Heaven Can Wait" attempts to turn "It's A Wonderful Life" into afootball movie. The trouble is that the film doesn't feel like a sportscomedy; the sports element and the coming back from heaven and takingsomeone else's body element are two distinctly different entities thatWarren Beatty's film tries to squeeze together. One does notnecessitate the other and as such the film takes forever to follow acommon thread and by the time the humor works and the film somewhatgets itself together, it's too late.How this film was nominated for nine Academy Awards absolutely bafflesme. Rarely do I hold contrarian opinions to the Academy, but "HeavenCan Wait" is simply not worthy, especially the writing team of Beattyand Elaine May, who while clever and funny fail structurally speaking.Quickly into the film, Los Angeles Rams' quarterback Joe Pendleton(Beatty) finds out he's going to be the starter for his Super-Bowlbound team, but dies in a nasty accident -- or does he? Turns out oneof heaven's "escorts," (not the definition you're thinking of) who wasresponsible for pulling Joe out of his body when he died, did so tooearly when it turns out Joe would've survived the accident.Remorsefully, the escort and Mr. Jordan (some heavenly guy in chargeplayed by James Mason) agree to give Joe another body to make up forit, a body Joe hopes to get into football shape and use to playquarterback again.But it's not that simple. The body Joe chooses (he can only select arecently deceased and undiscovered body) belongs to corporatebillionaire and supposed scumbag Leo Farnsworth whose wife and personalassistant are having an affair and tried to kill him. The film dawdlesin the corporate affairs of Farnsworth for far too long, thinking thesituation funny when the character's goal is to play football and ourdesire is to see him pull it off, not try and improve on Farnsworth'slife. We are given no reason to think Joe would actually care to useFarnsworth's body to mess with Farnsworth's affairs, but he does andfootball disappears from the story for a chunk of time.That's when Julie Christie is introduced as Betty the love interest,which is poor because she's not attached to the football element, whichis supposed to be the main part of the story, hence how disjointed andpoorly composed the script is. Some of the writing is indeed humorousand well-done, especially with Farnsworth's butlers as well as CharlesGrodin and Dyan Cannon playing the two people that just plotted to killhim trying to rectify the situation now that he's alive. However, thosescenes are such a far turn from the initial football set up that thehumor is limited because the script is going off in a dissatisfyingdirection. Perhaps I had the wrong set of expectations, but I thinkmost people will feel oddly deceived at the direction the story goesin."Heaven Can Wait" tries to do too much and the talents aren't strongenough to make up for the elaborate script. Beatty's a likable actor,but the story draws Joe up as unconvincing because his motivation is sodistorted. Creativity and originality, which "Heaven Can Wait"certainly doesn't lack, are terrific qualities in films, especially ina genre as cliché-ridden as sports comedy, but the execution iseverything and "Heaven Can Wait" from a writing standpoint was abotched attempt.~Steven CVisit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com

(2013-04-18 07:22:54)

Beatty Takes Control

Heaven Can Wait is a remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan. In the original Joe Pendleton is a boxer but in this film Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty) is a quarterback for the LA Rams. While riding on his bike he is hit by a truck. He awakens at a weigh station but refuses to board the jet to heaven. His escort (Buck Henry) refuses to believe that Joe is right and calls his supervisor Mr. Jordan (James Mason). They find out that Joe is right and the escort is ordered to return him to his body. But the body is cremated. Mr. Jordan and Joe start looking for a substitute body. (This is a hilarious sequence.)They settle on Leo Farnsworth, a world famous industrialist, who is being murdered by his wife, Julia (Dyan Cannon) and secretary, Tony Abbott (Charles Gordin). As Leo, Joe is a total disaster. He has no idea of what Farnsworth's company does or how to run it. But in the clutch he comes up with some very interesting ideas.During the process he meets Betty Logan (Julie Christie) whose village in England is going to be razed to build a refinery. He decides to save her village and marry her. (Despite his current marriage.)Next he decides to get in shape and become quarterback for the Rams. He contacts his old pal the team trainer Max Corkle (Jack Weston). He tries to explain to Max what happened. (This is a totally manic scene.) Max is finally convinced and they start to work to get him in shape. But using the staff to scrimmage is not working so Joe buys the Rams.As everything starts to come together for Joe, he is told that his temporary arrangement has come to an end and must give up Leo's body. Joe refuses but Julia and Tony's latest attempt succeeds. A new body is found, Tom Jarrett, the Rams starting quarterback. Joe as Tom wins the Super Bowl. Everything is now fine so Mr. Jordan returns to the weigh station and Joe's memories go with him - well almost all do.This is a fantasy film (Rams winning a Super Bowl while in LA!) and it works very well on this level. Warren Beatty has chosen two co creators to facilitate this. Co writer Elaine May is known as a great comedy writer and she worked perfectly with Beatty. Co director Buck Henry is known for his farcical touch - he created the smash it Get Smart. Having these two collaborate with Beatty was a great stroke of genius.Dyan Cannon steals the show as the unfaithful wife. She hits every comic note perfectly. When she needs to go over the top, she does. When she needs to be subtle, she is. The rest of the cast is also perfection.This is a great comic farce that you'll enjoy from many vantage points.DVD EXTRAS: None

ilprofessore-1

(2013-04-17 19:51:03)

Jack Warden's tour de force

This remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" has many felicitous moments,foremost among them the performance of the half Jewish/half Irishactor, Jack Warden, as the trainer "Max," a role for which he wasjustifiably nominated for an Oscar for the best supporting actor.Warden is best remembered for his serious roles --he was one of thejurors in "Twelve Angry Man" and the editor in "All The President'sMen" -- but he was a superb comic actor who in the tradition of allgreat clowns played the most absurd moments with the greatestseriousness. One of the funniest encounter scenes in all film, right upthere with the great Jack Benny/Sig Rumann meeting in "To Be or Not ToBe," is the moment in this film where Warren Beaty in the body ofanother man (Fransworth) tries to convince his old pal Warden that heis indeed the football player Joe Pendelton. Warden's reactions, hisbusiness with the cigarette lighter, and his final acceptance ofBeatty's explanation are alone worth the time it takes to watch thisslightly overlong film.

Lesli

(2013-04-03 12:00:53)

Clever & Entertaining

This movie is a 1978 classic featuring many well known celebrities. Warren Beatty is at his best. The storyline is clever, funny and touching. Great performances by perfectly cast actors make this film memorable. Definitely worth seeing!

fredsab

(2013-04-02 21:33:08)

It's about love and comedy, not reincarnation

All the divine machinations are there to forward the plot, they arecertainly not the focus. The movie message is not about reincarnation butwho we are inside the outward appearances. Julie Christie glows in herpartwhile Beatty more than handles his straight lines, with Charles Grodin(never funnier), Dyan Cannon, and Buck Henry all delivering the comicgoods.A comic masterpiece with wonderful irony and a satisfying love story.***1/2 out of ****.

(2013-04-01 23:50:40)

Movie Making with All Cylinders Firing!

Romantic comedy has rarely been served up as seamlessly as in this under-appreciated romantic comedy. The acting and direction have been described by numerous reviewers.But little has been said about the superb soundtrack music by Dave Grusin, the composer for Tootsie, On Golden Pond, The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Firm, Racing with the Moon, Three Days of the Condor, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, and countless other films and television series. Grusin's melodies and arrangements don't merely provide musical accompaniment. His total understanding of each scene combined with his command of orchestral nuance is evident as the film glides along on the rails of Grusin's compositions.If you are building a library of great romantic comedies, it shall always be incomplete if you do not own "Heaven Can Wait." The same can be said for the soundtrack CD. But, sadly, no such CD exists.....yet.

moonspinner55

(2013-04-01 12:16:20)

Soft-sell star-vehicle goes flat...

Warren Beatty is surprisingly eager-to-please as a pro-footballquarterback whose soul is taken out of his body too soon after anaccident; with angelic assistance, he's put into a new body (that of anoverweight billionaire) but he's on borrowed time. The film, a remakeof "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", is all soft-focus warmth and good will; ittries setting up some wild comedy--the billionaire has a murderousspouse with a weaselly lover--but it all falls apart in the finalquarter. The concluding events in "Heaven Can Wait" are so impossiblybungled, I was flabbergasted Beatty and company allowed the picture toget away from them. In a desperate need to wrap things up with theproverbial bow, the film becomes a benign love story with hardly anyinspiration and no real point beyond the obvious softening of Beatty'sstar-profile. The screenplay is sadly insensitive to Jack Warden'sfootball coach, who is left sitting alone in the locker room, and neverallows love-interest Julie Christie to ingratiate herself to the viewer(she's extremely chilly). A huge box-office hit, but one which treadsno new ground. ** from ****

x111b3825

(2013-03-31 11:25:02)

Dated, but decent nonetheless...

This is a film, that you may have to really have an appreciation for thetime from whence it came to really, truly appreciate.To put it simply, it is dated and this is right down to its core.Now this isn't always a bad thing. However as movies become moresophisticated, certain things like the soundtrack on this can really betaxing for the new generation.I'm sure there are numerous reasons for how certain aspects of change cameabout in film. For example, why did Martin Scorsese's "Alice Doesn't LiveHere Anymore" have such texture in its soundtrack when this movie, shot fouryears later has such a "Starsky and Hutch" feel, with perhaps an originalscore, but a dated, blah feeling nonetheless. It could be everything frombudget to lack of cooperation of artists, to the simple matter of choice. Of course nowadays, it really shows. It was also standard fare at the timemusically and "Alice" was just a very cool exception. Some movies like "The Cutting Edge," for example make use of the dated scorewith some original tracks on top, but this version of a done before, doneagain since movie sticks to the novel score. Okay, bigdeal.Outside of this simple fact it's a solid story with decent direction, not asmuch of a tear jerker as I'm willing to bet it would be today, excepting theChris Rock version...and the comedy is dated as well.Probably the funniest part for me (and here's some spoiler) was all theuniforms that really had no tie to anything, prompting Beatty to ask "do Isail?" Every night that he showed up for dinner in a new and gaudieroutfit, I sat and chuckled.All this aside, I think this is where the main criticisms may sprout todayand this is simply not changeable. Still, fun, solid and though dated,still enjoyable. Women will swoon over Beatty's youthful good looks morethan Christie, who was supposed to be the object of his affection. Gentlemen, just remember she was made to look frumpy and conservatively set. She was cast in a more sexy manner in other roles and if you hunt her downtoday, even with the added years she's still a looker.

paulmaloy

(2013-03-31 05:06:23)

A delightful movie with great characters

I remember watching this movie when it first came out and I thoroughlyenjoyed it. Since then, I've watched it several more times and each timeIstill enjoy it as I did the first time, even now that I know theending.Ultimately it's a great story with wonderful characters richly played.Charles Grodin is fantastic with Warren Beatty playing his role in such anunderstated way that he really becomes totally believable as JoePendleton.Although young children won't likely understand the context of thesubplots(murder and implied sex) or the subtleties of the movie, for the most partthis is a decent family film. Although not as bad as most so-calledfamily-friendly movies of today, there is one spot where some profanity isused, easily skipped if you know where to fast-forward.

nama chakravorty

(2013-03-28 06:28:04)

Entertaining & Sweet...

Warren Beatty proves his potential & confidence in his 1978cult-classic 'Heaven Can Wait'. Though the second film adaptation ofHarry Segall's stage-play of the same name, preceded by 'Here Comes Mr.Jordan', Beatty's 'Heaven Can Wait' yet comes across as entertaining &sweet. It's a simple yet fictional story, told in a neat manner.Beatty stars in the lead role, playing a football player who, afterbeing killed in a collision accident, is sent back to earth in the bodyof a millionaire.Screenplay by Beatty, Elaine May, Robert Towne & Buck Henry, isengaging and packs in memorable moments. The second hour, however, islengthy. Trimming needed to be done. Beatty & Buck Henry's Direction,is quite good. Cinematography is perfect. Editing & Art Design, areworth a mention.Performance-Wise: As told from the very beginning, Beatty is the Lifeof 'Heaven Can Wait'. The Veteran Actor sinks his teeth into the part,and is a treat to watch. He carries the film on his shoulders fromstart to end. Jack Warden is lovable. Dyan Cannon is hilarious. JulieChristie is nice. Charles Grodin does well. Others lend good support. On the whole, An Entertaining Film from the Late 1970's. Worth A Watch.

(2013-03-27 14:44:47)

"Everything happens for a reason..."

1978, I was 8 years old when this came out and I remember going to the theater with my mother.Today, I was at the DVD rental store, I was walking passed and saw "heaven can wait", it was the recommendation of the month.I just finished watching it this evening and though it's a very old type of movie, it felt nice...a simple, feel good movie, I could relate to the..."everything happens for a reason", "there's always a plan", "if it's meant to be", "destiny"...my point exactly, that's life and this movie was a good reminder for me, so, I'll have to purchase this to add to my collection...

jcanettis

(2013-03-17 23:42:13)

Below Average

"Heaven Can Wait" flirts with a nice idea: Joe, a quarterback, (Beaty)dies in an accident, but as he goes on his way to heaven, a chief angel(Mason) agrees that he was brought erroneously there and must bebrought back to life. However, things become complicated when theydiscover that this is not feasible anymore as his body has beencremated, so after some extensive body-searching, he comes back as amillionaire who has just survived a murder attack. As he tries to fitinto his new life, numerous unorthodox things happen, including aseries of renewed murder attempts...Witty as the plot may sound, the film unfortunately fails to delivercompletely. It just doesn't work out, as a clever idea develops into acompletely boring and predictable story. The performances are average;ditto the direction. Moreover, do not expect any fancy visual and audioeffects (after all this was year 1978). Perhaps the film made an impactin its days, but today it can by no means get a pass grade. 4/10.

(2013-03-17 05:15:21)

A classic.

This review is from: Heaven Can Wait (DVD) Some films have that magical ability to cleanly entertain the viewer, and make us feel good. Some do not. This one does, in Spades. Sadly, this film also shows how good an actor Warren Beatty could have been if he had stayed away from politics and stuck to acting. Because this film really shines with an entertaining plot with a moral lesson, a touching love interest, superb acting by the entire cast, a touch of class, and yes, a touch of that magic that some films manage and some don't. Again, this one does.I shan't bother to rehash the plot--others here do that very well. Suffice to say I think that almost anyone with a pulse will be touched by, and entertained by, this excellent film. Highly recommended.