User reviews

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.