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Heaven Can Wait (1978)
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:25
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: A throwback to the high-gloss screwball comedies of the 1940s, Heaven Can Wait beguiles with seamless production values and great comic relief from Charles Grodin and Dianne Cannon.
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: When L.A. Rams quarterback Joe Pendleton (Beatty) is plucked from Earth too soon by an overzealous angel, he is sent back to Earth in another, older body. He struggles to regain his old spot in the... When L.A. Rams quarterback Joe Pendleton (Beatty) is plucked from Earth too soon by an overzealous angel, he is sent back to Earth in another, older body. He struggles to regain his old spot in the line-up while straightening out his host's tangled affairs. Based not on the 1943 movie of the same name, but on 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Academy Award Nominations: 9, including Best Picture, Best Actor: Warren Beatty, Best Director: Beatty/Henry, Best Adapted Screenplay: Elaine May/Warren Beatty. [More]
Starring: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, James Mason, Jack Warden
Starring: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, James Mason, Jack Warden, Dyan Cannon, Charles Grodin, Buck Henry, Vincent Gardenia, Joseph Maher, Hamilton Camp, Arthur Malet, Stephanie Faracy, Larry Block, Frank Campanella, Bill Sorrells, Dick Enberg, Dolph Sweet, R.G. Armstrong
Director: Warren Beatty, Buck Henry
Director: Warren Beatty, Buck Henry
Screenwriter: Elaine May, Warren Beatty
Story: Harry Segall
Composer: Dave Grusin
Producer: Warren Beatty, Howard W. "Hawk" Koch, Charles McGuire
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Reviews for Heaven Can Wait
Supremely produced, this whimsical romantic comedy served as star vehicle for Julie Christie and especially Warren Beatty, who made an impressive co-directing debut with Buck Henry; the film deservedly won the Oscar for Art Direction.
There are a few laughs from Grodin and Cannon, but Beatty and Christie are like 400-pound gorillas chasing a milkweed seed.
It's certainly likable enough and was a big hit when it came out, but one could hardly call it an auspicious artistic debut -- a crafty commercial entertainment with a certain amount of intelligence is more like it.
This is the kind of upbeat screwball comedy Hollywood used to do smoothly and well.
Heaven Can Wait shines in almost every department: it in one of those rare movies that deserves to be seen again and again.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| 43% 43% | The Proposal |
| 26% 26% | Land of the Lost |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 67% 67% | The Merry Gentleman |
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