Heaven Can Wait (1978) User Reviews

Football Fairy Tale

[k roo · 8/10 · 26 April 2002]

I too was surprised that this film received a not-much-better than average rating. I am not a huge fan of Beatty, but I think he plays his role in this movie perfectly, running rampant through the lives of his unfaithful wife and private secretary (Charles Grodin couldn't be better), and his former coach. Joe Pendleton is so sweet and earnest that he deserve a happy, fairy-tale ending. I don't think the script ever descends into sappiness and there is a fine ensemble cast. I laugh out loud still, even though I have seen the movie several times, and I still get a bit teary-eyed at the end. This film deserves better!

1978 was a heavenly summer from Paramount.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 5 June 2015]

The Paramount mountain was certainly busy and flowing with cash in the late spring-summer months of 1978 with three box-office smashes: The Oscar Nominated Best Film "Heaven Can Wait", the screwball comedy "Foul Play" ("Kojak, Bang Bang!") and the musical blockbuster "Grease". I saw each of these films more than once during that summer, a transition time for me, and the memories come flooding back each time I see even a movie still or quick clip from any of those films. "Heaven Can Wait" is an excellent remake of an equally excellent 1940's classic, "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", changing the dead character from boxer to football player but pretty much keeping everything else the same.

Robert Montgomery's boxer was killed in an airplane crash, coming back to earth due to the fact that an overzealous angel took him before waiting for the outcome. Warren Beatty's football player is bicycling through the Hollywood Hills and killed by speeding automobiles going through a tunnel. Escorted into heaven's waiting station by the same overzealous angel (Buck Henry), he insists that he doesn't belong there. Head angel Mr. Jordan (James Mason) discovers that indeed, he was supposed to arrive years later, and now they must find another body for him to return to earth in. More concerned with getting to the super bowl, Beatty turns down the variety of bodies he is given, and finally settles for a murdered millionaire whose wife (a hysterically funny Dyan Cannon) and assistant (Charles Grodin) conspired against. Now Beatty must not only get himself ready for the superbowl, he must also prevent his second demise which he tries with heavenly guidance.

Julie Christie, Beatty's oft 1970's co-star, gives a light-hearted performance as a British activist out to prevent a nuclear plant from being put into her home town. Of course, that becomes a major plot point to get them together romantically and gives Beatty something more to do than just turn millionaire Farnsworth's mansion into a football training camp. In great support, there's Jack Warden as Beatty's former coach stumped by his "return", Arthur Malet and Joseph Maher as eccentric servants (having an amusing conversation concerning Beatty's constant meeting with the invisible angel James Mason in a closet) and Vincent Gardenia as the police investigator who exposes the crimes at Farnsworth Mansion.

A great screenplay by Beatty, Elaine May and Robert Towne makes this delightful fantasy flow with witty dialog, and the co-direction by Beatty and Buck Henry keeps things at a light-hearted pace. This is a film definitely worth sharing with family, and one you will want to see again and again.

Classic-Style Old-Fashioned Fantasy Film-making Reminiscent of the 1940's and 1950's

[classicalsteve · 8/10 · 13 February 2010]

Although made in the very late 1970's, "Heaven Can Wait" is really a throwback to a bygone era of fantasy film-making. Hollywood offerings such as "The Bishop's Wife" (where Carey Grant plays an angel), "Angels in the Outfield", "It's a Wonderful Life", and "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (which is actually the inspiration behind "Heaven Can Wait") were innocent 100-minute escapist fair whose only mission was to entertain. Some modern offerings include "Mr Destiny", "Maid to Order", and the TV shows "The Flying Nun" and "Touched by an Angel". None of these kinds of films have much in the way of cutting social commentary or even ground-breaking cinematic techniques. However, their entertainment value is very high, being nothing but. "Heaven Can Wait" is this kind of a movie, maybe the perfect "chick flick" as it combines fantasy, football and even a little love story.

The story is relatively simple: Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty), a quarterback in the twilight of his career, feels destined to make it to the Superbowl. The LA Rams, his team, are in the playoffs. One day during early-morning training after consuming his liver-and-whey shake, he bicycles into a tunnel where two large vehicles taking both lanes are charging from the other direction of the tunnel. Looks like Pendleton will be playing in a Superbowl coached by Vince Lombardi with George "The Gipper" Gipp as one of his teammates. The next thing he knows, he's jogging among clouds with an escort (played by writer-director Buck Henry who also played the hotel attendant in "The Graduate") in a suit and tie trying to get him to stop running around. Pendleton is still in his athletic clothes sporting a soprano saxophone and doing push-ups among the fluffy billows. He doesn't quite realize he's died. Or has he? Turns out the escort made a mistake: Pendleton would have survived, perhaps avoided, the collision, but the escort nabbed him from his body before the resolution of the event, relying on "probability and outcome", a recurring theme of the movie. Pendleton was not due for many decades.

His case is taken up by Mr Jordan (James Mason in one of his later roles) a kind of heavenly supervisor who apparently coordinates peoples' souls. Realizing the mistake, Jordan takes Pendleton back to earth to find him a new body so he can live out the rest of his life as he was meant to. The only one available is the body of millionaire Leo Farnsworth who has just been murdered care of his estranged wife and personal assistant, played brilliantly by Dyan Cannon and Charles Grodin. One of the best scenes is when Pendleton reappears as Farnsworth, and Cannon nearly has a conniption. Pendleton, now as stuffy gazillionaire Farnsworth, must forge a way to get back to the Rams in time for the Superbowl.

The aspect that saves this film from falling too far into sentimental gush or absolute unbelievability is the quality of the acting of the leads (particularly Warren Beatty, Charles Grodin, Dyan Cannon, Julie Christie, James Mason, and Jack Warden as Max, the Rams' trainer) coupled with a fine screenplay. Everything is believable. Certainly the whole concept is just about as far-fetched as the Land of Oz, but you never contemplate that possibility for a moment. For some reason, everything works, and you run with it, not unlike "It's a Wonderful Life". As silly and fantastical as it is, the trip is well worth it.

A good comedy

[mm-39 · 7/10 · 16 May 2003]

This film is entertaining. I like Warren in this film, and the script is crazy enough that it works. There is a message about hope in this film, and we all need hope. Some parts of the film can be so funny, I like how they end it. This film ties all the lose ends up nicely. I remember the 78 and 79 Rams those were pretty good teams. 7 or 8 out of ten.

Yes, I'd love to have coffee with you.

[DQGladstone · 12 October 2009]

This is a charm film, seeming to be the place where Warren Beatty hit his charm peak, learned how it was done and did it perfectly.

Perfectly cast down to the servants, this film has some of the best scenes, with Buck Henry and James Mason in the closet ("Tell them I'm sorry, thank them"), the falling bed sequence, the servants on the staircase, Warren running around the house, the cigarlighting "I'm Joe Pendleton" scene, the hats, "have we met?" and,of course, the classic "let's be the goodguy company, the popular players." I could go on.

At the end, where Julie Christie is realizing that Tom is Joe, her SKIN changes color. She FLUSHES.

When Joe tells Buck Henry, "you're bad news", when Joe tells Mr. Jordan, "I love her, Mr. Jordan".

"Can't something be legal and still be wrong?" A maid comes out on the croquet lawn with the badly hit ball!

I'm sorry, but this film with it's brilliant comedy and beyond brilliant cast is so much better than "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", there's no comparison.

This is one of my favorite films of all time. I love it. It's funny, it's charming, it's inspirational. This is why God invented Hollywood.

Entertaining, But It Fell Apart At The End

[sddavis63 · 6/10 · 29 January 2003]

I was really enjoying this movie. It was moving along at a good pace; I thought Warren Beatty was giving a good performance - and then the last twenty minutes threw in a plot twist that was totally unexpected (which would have been fine, except that it made no sense.) That, along with some illogical parts to the storyline, really brought this movie down a notch or two in my estimation.

Beatty played Joe Pendleton, a quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams who finally gets a chance to quarterback his team in the Super Bowl, except that heaven makes a mistake. "The Escort" (Buck Henry) wants to save Pendleton the pain of dying in a road accident and so plucks him out of his body before the accident happens. Unfortunately, Pendleton wasn't supposed to die in the accident but by the time the mistake is figured out his body is cremated, so he has to return to earth in the body of the fabulously wealthy Mr. Farnsworth.

First problem. Everybody has a time to die. OK. It's bad that "The Escort" brought Pendleton to heaven before he was supposed to die. But isn't it equally bad that Pendleton gets to keep living through the lives of two people whose time was supposedly up? Seems to me that would throw everything off balance too. What if Pendleton as Farnsworth or the quarterback whose body he took over (and I have to confess that name escapes me) killed someone after their time was supposedly up? Seems to me that would create real problems. But the real problem for me was the ending.

SPOILER AHEAD

Why all of a sudden is Pendleton told that he won't be allowed to remember anything and will simply live as the quarterback whose body he took over? I thought the point was that Pendleton wasn't supposed to have died. But, in effect, heaven's Mr. Jordan (James Mason) kills him anyway by wiping away his memory when everything in the movie to that point suggested that he could keep living as Pendleton in someone else's body. I don't mind a plot twist, but that just made no sense to me.

Anyway, the movie is entertaining in spite of those plot problems. I enjoyed Beatty's performance as Pendleton (knowing nothing about business) attending Farnsworth's company's Board meeting and completely changing everything the company had been about by convincing the directors to look at things "like a football game." That was quite humourous. Jack Warden was quite good as Rams' trainer Max Corkle, who tries to get Farnsworth's body into shape for the Super Bowl, and Charles Grodin, Dyan Cannon and Julie Christie also offered good performances here.

6/10

Fine remake of 'Here Comes Mr. Jordan'

[shatteredx · 7/10 · 6 December 2022]

Overall, it's a nice remake, despite being more-or-less scene for scene the same. It starts off slower than the original but I think the second half and ending are bit better than HCMJ (the original has some stuff in the second half that feels dated).

Warren Beatty is good in the main role. He adds a nice touch to the character. I didn't like Julie Christie at first but liked her by the end. I thought James Mason actually WAS Claude Rains at first. They look and play the role REALLY similarly, both great.

AFAIK, the original invented this genre of film and since then, there have been probably dozens of movies and TV shows that have riffed on the same type of afterlife/supernatural romantic drama. Because of that, I would imagine some viewers might feel a bit underwhelmed as they have already seen movies with these same tropes and plot devices.

Still, I enjoyed it. If you've seen Here Comes Mr. Jordan, you don't really need to see this one. But, it's a nice update. 7/10.

6.8 User Rating? Huh?

[abooboo-2 · 9/10 · 28 September 1999]

I just about fell out of my chair when I saw that this film only got a 6.8. This is a light entertainment classic and Beatty has never been better suited for a role. The dream supporting cast includes Dyan Cannon, Jack Warden, James Mason, Buck Henry, Charles Grodin, Vincent Gardenia ... and all are at the top of their game. Julie Christie's character (as the love interest) seems, at first glance, to be a bit underwritten, but her scenes with Beatty linger in the memory - especially the ending where Beatty, in a new body with his memory wiped out, sees this beautiful woman in the bowels of a deserted football stadium and struggles to remember what she meant to him.

Growing up, I seem to recall that CBS or some major network used to show this once every year and it was hyped as a big event (this was just before the explosion of cable). I never got tired of watching it each year and it still holds up remarkably well.

Lovely movie that might have been better

[LJMJCollins · 7/10 · 5 June 2017]

PROS:

--Amiable, uplifting

--Beatty likable as guileless Joe Pendleton

--Charles Grodin's droll/dry humor, especially in a few hilarious, memorable scenes with Dyan Cannon

--Truly good natured film

CONS:

--Little chemistry between Warren Beatty and Julie Christie; wonder what the movie would have been like with a different actress

--Disappointing ending that contradicts the central theme of the movie, as Joe's personality and memories are lost, with faithful Max Corkle losing his friend

I've liked this movie for almost forty years now, despite its less-than-perfect aspects. It's like an old friend. :)

Thoroughly charming afterlife comedy

[robb_772 · 8/10 · 6 February 2008]

After appearing the rare Mike Nichols misstep THE FORTUNE (1975), it took Beatty three long years to return to the screen with the genteel comedy/fantasy HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1978). In addition to essaying the lead role, Beatty also made his debut in the director's chair, with the assistance of legendary comedy writer Buck Henry (who also plays a supporting role in the film). A remake of 1941 semi-classic HERE COMES MR. JORDAN, HEAVEN CAN WAIT may not surpass the delightful whimsy of the original classic, but it emerges as somewhat of a modern classic in it's own right. The film was an instant hit with both critics and audiences, was nominated for an astounding 9 Oscars including "Best Picture," and remains a magical film that is almost impossible not to love.

Beatty not only proves himself to be a perfectly competent film director, and the picture also provides the star with one of his best roles as an actor. Beatty's good-natured football player Joe is the exact type of lovable stud that you cannot help but fall for. The film's screenplay takes Joe from earth to heaven and to back to earth again through an assortment of various bodies, and Beatty's easygoing charisma holds it all together and keeps viewers involved in the story and fixated on the screen. This is a star performance if there ever was one, and Beatty has rarely been more likable.

The rest of the cast is particularly winning. The still silver-tongued James Mason (in a part originally offered to the retired Cary Grant) as the heavenly Mr. Jordan and the endearing gruff Jack Warden are perfect as father figure-types for Beatty's Joe, and Charles Grodin and Dyan Cannon are absolutely terrific as the film's pair of villains. The only performer missing the boat is a blah Julie Christie, who is pleasant but unconvincing in the sadly underwritten role of the ecologist love interest of the body Beatty has temporarily inherited. It seems as though the creators thought dressing Christie in frumpy wardrobe and frizzy hairstyle was enough to give the character depth, but all they succeeded in was making a natural beauty look rather hideous.

The film is a joyous, comedic piece of whimsy that manages to incorporate slapstick comedy, romance, fantasy, and even an underdog sports story without ever feeling bloated or disjointed. The true emotional highpoint comes with Mr. Jordan's farewell to Joe, as well as Max failing to recognize him in his new body. The rather shallow development of Christie's character leaves the film's THE WAY WE WERE-like finale ringing a bit hollow, but it's still an effectively bittersweet coda nonetheless. This film launched a major revival of whimsical comedies that remained popular until the late-eighties, and it easily remains the best effort of this revival.

Jack Warden's tour de force

[ilprofessore-1 · 7/10 · 28 February 2009]

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

A well done update of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan"

[sme_no_densetsu · 8/10 · 7 November 2017]

"Heaven Can Wait" is a remake of the 1941 fantasy/comedy classic "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", starring Robert Montgomery as pugilist Joe Pendleton along with Claude Rains as the titular Mr. Jordan. This time around, Warren Beatty takes on the Joe Pendleton role, now a Los Angeles Rams quarterback instead of a boxer.

The story is put in motion when Pendleton is yanked out of his body by an overzealous angel before he's meant to die. By the time the error is discovered it's too late for Pendleton to be placed back into his own body so he must accept an alternate host among individuals who are about to die. When he does finally settle on a body he quickly resumes his goal of attempting to become the starting quarterback for the Rams but he must also contend with his predecessor's murderous wife and shady business dealings.

Being pretty faithfully based on "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", it's no surprise that "Heaven Can Wait" has a somewhat old-fashioned feel. However, that's a good thing. The clever plot of the original was kept mostly intact while bringing the characters and the comedy up to date. Overall, I find the remake to be funnier and just different enough from the original to keep it fresh. I still give the original a slight edge in narrative construction, though.

The cast of the original made for a high standard to match but I think that the remake met and possibly even exceeded it. Beatty made an engaging lead of a totally different sort than Robert Montgomery and being teamed with Julie Christie again was the icing on the cake. The supporting cast was also superb with multiple standouts including James Mason, Jack Warden, Charles Grodin, Dyan Cannon & Buck Henry.

Lavished with nine Oscar nominations, "Heaven Can Wait" is a movie that shows attention to detail in all areas. In the end, the film's only Oscar win was for art direction/set decoration, though the tight writing and jaunty musical score could have just as easily been honoured as well (not to mention one or more of the actors).

I'm a bit surprised at the movie's somewhat middling rating on this site but I suspect that's probably because it represents a throwback to an earlier era of film-making. If that sounds appealing to you, by all means check this movie out.

Entertaining & Sweet...

[namashi_1 · 7/10 · 16 August 2011]

Warren Beatty proves his potential & confidence in his 1978 cult-classic 'Heaven Can Wait'. Though the second film adaptation of Harry 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, after being killed in a collision accident, is sent back to earth in the body of a millionaire.

Screenplay by Beatty, Elaine May, Robert Towne & Buck Henry, is engaging and packs in memorable moments. The second hour, however, is lengthy. Trimming needed to be done. Beatty & Buck Henry's Direction, is quite good. Cinematography is perfect. Editing & Art Design, are worth a mention.

Performance-Wise: As told from the very beginning, Beatty is the Life of '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 from start to end. Jack Warden is lovable. Dyan Cannon is hilarious. Julie Christie is nice. Charles Grodin does well. Others lend good support.

On the whole, An Entertaining Film from the Late 1970's. Worth A Watch.

Did I watch the wrong movie?

[Sheila-12 · 2/10 · 20 July 2000]

I have seen worse movies, but I've never seen a movie this bad get away with it so cleanly! The script was hokey and predictable. The plot had embarrassingly large holes. There was no logic, and nothing to make me care about the main characters. I found myself hoping that Dyan Cannon's and Charles Grodin's supporting roles would suddenly grow bigger, because they were the only interesting part of the entire film. Even the score was awful. There is nothing that could make me recommend this movie to anyone. 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.

a romantic classic.

[triple8 · 15 February 2004]

I remember as a kid, I loved this movie. I had seen it in the theatre and liked it so much I saw it again! I think the appeal here is the same as in many of these types of films-it's a sweet whimsical fairytale of a movie that is pure entertainment but manages to be lovely without being corny at the same time.

There aren't to many movies like this around now. Of coarse, not having seen this since I was a child who knows whether I'd still be such a fan but at that time, I wept buckets and since it was one of the first films that I saw that stuck with me, I have fond memories of it.

People shouldn't put this movie down for realism or not having realism etc. It's a fantasy type movie. It's the type of movie you know your wtavhing a movie while you watch it but you cry anyway! I don't think this movie can be dismissed as being lightweight or unimportant. Where would film be without romance? This is up there in that category and many I know feel the same. It's a breath of fresh air and should be seen by anyone who likes warm sentimental (yeah OK sappy!!) movies!

Good romantic comedy/fantasy film but not worthy of 9 Oscar nominations

[johno-21 · 7/10 · 15 March 2006]

This is a good movie but the cast of Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, James Mason, Jack Warden, Dyan Cannon, Charles Grodin, Buck Henry and Vincent Gardenia must have had a lot of clout with the Academy of Arts and Sciences for this film to have been nominated for 9 Academy Awards because it's not that good. Nominated in most of the major categories including Best Picture, Best Director for Beatty and Henry, Best Actor for Beatty, Best Supporting Actor for Jack Warden, Best Supporting Actress for Dyan Cannon and Best Screenplay for Beatty and Elaine May as well as nominations for Best Cinematography, Music Score and for Art Direction for which it won it's solo Oscar. The Golden globes actually gave it their Best Picture, Best Actor for Beatty and Best Supporting Actress for Cannon, awards. Cannon deserved her Oscar and Warden was fairly nominated and William Fraker was also fairly nominated for Cinematography. This is a romantic comedy/fantasy that is a tribute to the romantic comedy fantasy films popular in the 1930's and 1940's and take it's character and basic storyline from the 1941 movie Here Comes Mr. Jordan and it's title from the 1943 movie Heaven Can Wait but Warren Beatty is not as romantically comedic as Robert Montgomery or Don Ameche were in their respective lead roles and he isn't as romantically comedic as he was in Shampoo. I saw this during it's initial release in the theater and have seen it a few times since and would give it a 7.5 out of 10.

still delivers a good laugh

[Embley · 6/10 · 14 April 2000]

This used to be one of my favourite films when I was a kid, I think I really enjoyed Beatty's character more than anything. Without him this film would have pretty flat (but then without him it wouldn't have been made). I hadn't seen it in more than 10 years but I was still laughing at the jokes. Warren was great and it is well worth checking out on a rainy sunday afternoon.

Humor and Great Acting Saves an Incoherent Story

[Eumenides_0 · 7/10 · 21 May 2010]

We don't hear a lot about Warren Beatty these days. He's been away from from Hollywood for a decade now. But once upon a time he made and starred in amazing movies – Reds, Bulworth, The Parallax View, Dick Tracy. Heaven Can Wait is a landmark in his career because it marks the first time he wrote, acted, directed and produced a movie. And it turns out it's a fun, good movie.

Using the 1941 movie Here Comes Mr. Jordan as its basis, Beatty's movie tells the story of Joe Pendleton (Beatty), a football player who is taken to Heaven before his time. This bureaucratic mistake forces Mr. Jordan (James Mason), the heavenly director in charge of sending each soul to their final destination, to find a temporary body for Joe to inhabit while he looks for one that Joe can spend the rest of his life in. Things get more complicated because Joe died on the same day he learned he was going to play for the L.A. Rams, his greatest dream, and he 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, a millionaire recently poisoned and drowned in the bathtub by his wife, Julia (Dyan Cannon), and his secretary Tony (Charles Grodin). Nothing beats Julia's reaction when she sees her husband placidly walk into the living room as if nothing had happened. Trying to kill him again becomes a running gag through the movie and Grodin and Cannon pull off hilarious performances as a pair of greedy, scheming murderers, paranoid about whether or not the millionaire knows they're trying to kill him.

Putting a simple guy like Joe in the body of a millionaire also allows the movie to make some jokes about the business world. In a memorable scene, after inviting several reporters to a private meeting of stockholders, Joe uses football as a metaphor to how business should be run, leaving the stockholders completely baffled. Farnsworth's seedy businesses also brings Joe close to Betty (Julie Christie), an environmental activist. To the shock of his partners, he starts showing a lot of concern about the harm his company may be doing to people.

All this strange behavior is usually chalked up to the eccentricities of 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 former trainer, Max (Jack Warden), that he's back, Joe starts training until fate intervenes again in a way he wasn't expecting.

There's almost nothing wrong with Heaven Can Wait; that's not to say it's a great movie; but for what it tries to be – a lovely fantasy comedy/romance – it's very good. There's nothing pretentious or overly ambitious about it; Beatty and his crew and actors just want to make an entertaining movie and that's what it is. The chemistry between the actors never fails to be felt in each scene – whether it be between the energetic Joe and the serene Mr. Jordan, between Julia and Tony in their murder plots, in Max and Joe's friendship, or in Joe and Betty's romance, the actors connect with and compliment each other instead of just delivering their lines.

The movie has some storytelling problems towards the end: first events start being rushed to the finale instead of being given some room to develop, and then the finale contradicts the movie's premise. It makes the movie end in a pretty downbeat way, not that I dislike downbeat endings, but I prefer them when they come naturally. This imperfect note, however, isn't enough to ruin what is otherwise a well-acted and entertaining movie.

A very classy movie

[MyDarkStar · 9/10 · 5 December 2001]

I couldn't think of any other way to describe it in the summary - so I used the word "classy". That's right, classy. It probably stems from the fact that the movie is done in such good taste - very appealing and witty humor.

The entire cast does an absolutely perfect job in this movie. From Warren Beatty, to James Mason (is James Mason physically capable of putting in a bad performance ? ), to Buck Henry, to Jack Warden.

Perhaps the two best performances are Charles Grodin (the slimy personal assistant to Leo Farnsworth),and Dyan Cannon as the psycho Julia Farnsworth. They are both brilliant in their roles.

Very worth watching. Also worth more than its IMDB 6.9 rating.

The Best Version of The Story

[MogwaiMovieReviews · 7/10 · 21 September 2023]

Rewatched this fine little supernatural-like comedy yesterday; a remake of the earlier Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) that I actually think improves on it.

The story, of a football player taken to the afterlife before his time and so coming back in the body of a rich man, is the kind of thing that has been made a bunch of times in lots of hackneyed ways, but this one pulls it off better than most others through the quality and care you can feel in every department: the acting is real acting, detailed and likeable the whole way through, with Jack Warden shining the brightest, and Julie Christie's performance in the final scene of the film is probably her best, making what could be light and throwaway into something striking and memorable, with genuine emotional power, very much reminiscent of Chaplin's City Lights.

It really is the kind of film they don't - and can't - make anymore.

Come on guys!

[Stu-42 · 8/10 · 19 January 1999]

6.9 is not a terrible score on here, but for a movie of this quality it is a shame. I very rarely have given a film a 9 and it is very unusual for me to give a higher than average score. This was my favorite movie when I was a kid and when I saw it again recently I was just as impressed as an adult. The cast was excellent and they managed to evoke much emotion out of a fairy tale like story. One of the few remakes worthy of discussion. I would consider this a must see for anyone who has any kind of feelings whatsoever.

Doesn't work so well as a comedy, but has charm and likeability in abundance

[jimbo-53-186511 · 6/10 · 6 August 2023]

Los Angeles quarterback Joe Pendleton is knocked down by a speeding van. An overzealous angel/escort believes Joe to be dead and sends him to heaven only to learn that Joe's time wasn't due to come until the year 2025. Mr Jordan offers Joe another chance at life; the catch is that he needs to find a dead host whom nobody knows is dead as of yet and it seems that a recently murdered multi-millionaire may be the perfect choice...

Heaven Can Wait falls in to that niche category that I like to call "a film that isn't brilliant, but also doesn't have a great deal wrong with it." For me these are the most difficult films to review, but I shall share some of my thoughts...

To begin with the film is billed as a comedy but honestly I didn't see many moments within the film that really had me laughing; though this may just be a case of the film being not quite marketed correctly. If I'm being totally honest I also didn't think that Julie Christie and Warren Beatty were a particularly good fit (there's nothing wrong with their acting, but I just didn't feel that they had much in the way of chemistry and never truly believed in their romance). Have to admit to being slightly disappointed with Charles Grodin as well whom I thought was superb in Midnight Run, but not so here (not entirely his fault he's just not a funny character and isn't given enough to work with).

In spite of what I've said the film does have plenty of positives; the film is charming and likeable and given the journey that Joe goes through in this film then it's really hard not to have a smile on your face throughout the film's runtime. Beatty (whom I'm not a particularly big fan of) does give a winning performance I just wish he had worked with an actress whom he could have shared more in the way of chemistry with. James Mason is good in support, but it was Jack Warden that I thought shined very brightly in this film.

I watched Down to Earth which is a remake of this film before I watched Heaven Can Wait (truth be told I didn't know it was a remake of anything until I'd read some other reviews after I'd watched it). I know that I may receive a bit of backlash for this, but I honestly thought the remake was a slightly better film than this one. Part of the reason I think it worked better is that not only did it have all the heart and charm of this picture, but it also had a comedy actor (Chris Rock) in the main role and this made the remake a funnier film in my book. Beatty is not a naturally comedic actor and it does show here.

Still Heaven Can Wait is worth seeing as there's a nice story here and it's told with a degree of charm, warmth and likeability. To me though it lacks a bit in the way of humour and in a film that bills itself as a comedy that is a slight drawback.

Great remake of 'Here Comes Mr. Jordan'

[kijii · 9/10 · 25 November 2016]

This movie was nominated for several Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actor (Warren Beatty), Best Supporting Actor (Jack Warden), Best Supporting Actress (Dyan Cannon), Best Director (Warren Beatty & Buck Henry), Best Writing based on material from another medium (Elain May & Warren Beatty), Best Cinematography (William Fraker) and Best Original Score (Dave Grusin). Bottom line, Warren Beatty was involved with writing, directing, and acting in this very entertaining movie.

This was a very good movie, should not to be confused with the 20th Century Fox movie, Heaven Can Wait (1943). The only similarity between these two movies, is that a man was called to a waiting station after dying. From there on, the stories are totally different.

Without going into a complete recapping of the movie, the Beatty character seems to have been assumed to be dead in a bicycling accident when an over reactionary "angel" (Buck Henry) took his soul to a waiting station before he was really dead. Once done, it could not be undone and the Warren Beatty character had to take another man's body.

It is at this point that the great comedy really starts to take hold, with Dyan Cannon and Charles Grodin knowing that they had killed the man to which Beatty's body is assigned. This is a great movie with a lot of comical overtones----but then so was Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), the original movie from which this one was remade.

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Now that Beatty has retired and I can look back over his movies, I have come to realize his really unique comedic talent: The characters he often did the best were actually fools who took themselves very seriously. Or, at least that is the way that I see him playing real characters like Jack Reed, Bugsy Siegel, and Clyde Barrow as well as fictitious character such as John McCab, George (in Shampoo) and Jay Billington Bulworth (in Bulworth). Note--This personal observation does not take into account those characters that he played who did not appear to be clownish fools, i,e, Bud in Splendor in the Grass.

One of the most mediocre of all Best Picture nominees

[zetes · 6/10 · 26 September 2010]

One of those films whose Oscar success (nine nominations, one win) makes you go "huh?" It's a middling comedy starring, directed, produced and catered by Warren Beatty. It's not a remake of the Lubitsch film, but rather Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Beatty, an NFL quarterback, is about to die, and an overzealous angel takes him to Heaven too soon. To compensate, an angel played by James Mason puts him back to life in the role of an eccentric millionaire, and he meets Julie Christie. He's married to Dyan Cannon, who, along with her lover Charles Grodin, is trying to kill him. There's some funny stuff here, but it's never laugh-out-loud funny. About the only selling point is Beatty, who is as charming as always. He can't carry the meager movie, though, and he didn't deserve his Oscar nomination for it. Nor for his directing. Nothing in the film is Oscar worthy. Cannon is shrieky and unfunny, Jack Warden, who plays Beatty's former coach, does nothing whatsoever. The score is okay, and the cinematography is unremarkable, and, what the Hell, the one it won was Best Art Direction. For what? 1978 is not a bad year for cinema, but, holy cow, with those five Best Picture nominees, The Deer Hunter really does look like a masterpiece. They seriously overlooked Days of Heaven for Heaven Can Wait, An Unmarried Woman and Coming Home? What bullcrap!

Badly made

[kenandraf · 2/10 · 17 June 2002]

Below average movie about Reincarnation in a light romance comedy style.The directing,cinematography and screenplay was below average.The script was merely average.Too bad because there was a good story here and also very talented actors.Warren Beatty also was in his prime and looked very good for the part he had.The acting effort was below average though probably due to the inept directing skills of Beatty.This movie tends to be over rated particularly by big fans of Reincarnation and similar subject matters.This subject matter is a good story foundation but this is not a basis for over rating a movie that does not deserve a good rating,so for people who have not seen this movie and are checking it's reviews,beware of a LOUD MINORITY who give this one a CLASSIC rating.Only for big fans of the Reincarnation type stories and big fans of the lead actors.....