mark.waltz 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.

disinterested_spectator This movie is a remake of another movie that was so dumb it should never have been made once, let alone twice. You might think the original version was "Heaven Can Wait" (1943), on account of the fact that it has the same title, but that is actually a different movie. Both movies with that title have something to do with dying and going to Heaven, and both movies are comedies that are not very funny, but that is about all they have in common. The present movie is actually a remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (1941).Now, all that one asks of a comedy is that it be funny. If it makes you laugh, that is all that counts, no matter how ridiculous the plot may be. But when a comedy is not funny, and yet it keeps insisting that you are supposed to be laughing at one silly scene after another, there is little one can do but think about the plot until it is finally over. In this case, the plot is exasperating. Joe Pendleton is a quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams. He is hit by a car and is mistakenly whisked away to Heaven. It is discovered by Mr. Jordan, an authority in Heaven, that Joe was not supposed to die. Unfortunately, his body has already been cremated, so they have to find him another one to take its place.When Joe realizes what is going on, his big concern is whether he will be able to play football again. Football? He has just found out that all that stuff about God and Heaven is true, and he's worried about football? How could you possibly care about worldly goods when you know the secret of Eternity? Now, if I had just found out that I was in Heaven, I would be thrilled to discover that my soul was immortal. But if I subsequently found out that I was going to have to go back to earth in another body, my question to Mr. Jordan would be, "Is there a Hell, and if so, what do I need to do to stay out of it?" There is no more important question in this world or the next than that one.Assuming that there is a Hell, then having been sent back to earth in whatever body I was given, I would not be worried about football. I would immediately give all my worldly goods to the poor, turn the other cheek if struck, and absolutely, positively never look at a woman with lust in my heart again. Yeah, I know. At the end of the movie, Joe's memory of dying and going to Heaven is erased. But for the better part of the movie, he does remember all that Heaven stuff, and yet all he cares about is football (and a woman named Betty, whom he probably lusts after).As I said, if the movie were funny, all would be forgiven. Or, if the movie had been worthy in other ways, one might overlook this absurdity of caring about something like football when you know that Eternity hangs in the balance. For example, in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946), George Bailey finds out that all that stuff about God and Heaven is true too. Right then George should have said, "Oh Wow! That takes all the pressure off. Wait till I tell Mary the good news. Even if I do go to jail, everything will be fine when Mary and I die and we go to Heaven." He doesn't say this to himself, but we are willing to overlook the way George seems oblivious to his newfound knowledge of Eternity, because it is otherwise such a good movie.But "Heaven Can Wait," just like the original version on which it was based, is not a good movie, is not funny, and thus its preposterous plot deserves the ridicule I have just subjected it to.

dychus Every ten years or so I dust this movie off and watch it again, always with someone new. Nobody's ever disliked it. Many have asked why they didn't remember it or know of it before. Look, I get the drift of other reviews, and that the 1970s were movie-making's golden age. I happen to agree that "Days of Heaven" is a better movie. "Days of Heaven" is a ten-star movie, absolute required viewing for any serious movie fan. Maybe nine academy award nominations were excessive, too. But, when younger viewers three decades on love the movie as well as I did, one must concede that "Heaven Can Wait" is something special.If there were an Academy Award for CASTING, this would be a shoo-in, and that's even more true if Cary Grant had been persuaded to play Mr. Jordan.

songstar333 In general for the most part I'm not a fan of remakes. But considering that this is a remake of "Here Comes Mr.Jordan" which is one of my all time favorites I like this movie a lot. Both movies are quite wonderful in their own ways. In this movie they chose to update it and made him a football player instead of a fighter and that works very well. They also expanded more showing him with the board and taking an active role in that and his simple comparisons to football are quite charming and have a certain wisdom to them. The casting in both movies are wonderful. But this movie some of the lesser roles were made bigger and cast better. Julie Christie really steals my heart in this movie. Evelyn Keyes was very good in the original movie but Julie Christie really took the role much deeper and is quite wonderful. Charles Groden and Diane Cannon as Tony Abbott and Mrs Farnsworth were also much funnier and stronger than the original actors. Both movies are quite excellent and I recommend watching both of them. I still prefer Here Comes Mr Jordan for it's light touch, charm and innocence, plus I love Robert Mongomery. But this is by far one of the best remakes of a great movie that I've seen. It's really worth seeing and goes beyond just being a remake and became it's own movie.