Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

That was an excellent one.

Powerful

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Heaven Can Wait is not a remake of the 1943 Heaven Can Wait, but it is a remake of 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan, starring Robert Montgomery and Claude Rains, so if you want to see the original, make sure you rent the right movie. Both films have the same story: a young man is taken prematurely up to Heaven, but since it was a mistake and he wasn't supposed to die for decades, the angel Mr. Jordan sends him back to Earth in another man's body. For the sake of the audience's confusion, the actor stays the same, but it's made clear that everyone else in the movie sees him as the other "new" man. If you think about it, it's really not fair. He may have an extension of life, but he's placed in another man's surroundings, with another man's reputation, house, and wife.Warren Beatty stars in the remake, and while he's more likable and gorgeous than Robert Montgomery, there's still the question hanging above everyone's heads in the movie: Why was this remade? Since the changes are so minimal from the original, and since there are so many other "God made a mistake" movies out there, why was it necessary to make such a direct remake? The two women in Warren's "new" life are Dyan Cannon and Julie Christie, but neither are very easy to root for. Dyan is clearly the villain, and Julie is an outrageous, obnoxious protester, but if you're only in it for the eye candy, you could do a lot worse. James Mason plays the angel Mr. Jordan, and while he adds enormous class and maturity to the film, he's not sufficiently different from Claude Rains to have justified a remake.

Warren Beatty is the only person to twice score Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Screenplay for the same film. He did it in 1978 with "Heaven Can Wait" and again in 1981 for "Reds." I can understand "Reds" -- after all, that was a big, historical epic that carried a mantle of importance if nothing else. But what on earth possessed the Academy to go so ga-ga over this slight and not even very good remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan?" I'm not a big fan of the original, so it's not like I was unfairly comparing this film to that one. On its own terms, "Heaven Can Wait" is moderately entertaining, but the screenplay is really muddled, and the ending is rushed and confusing. I don't care that they were boyfriend and girlfriend in real life, but Beatty and Julie Christie don't have any chemistry. And Dyan Cannon and Charles Grodin, as the film's comic relief, wear out their welcome early on with their one-note caricatures.The film inexplicably won an Oscar for Art Direction in a year that saw it go up against "The Wiz," which is a terrible movie but has terrific production design. In addition to that and Beatty's quartet of nominations, the film also received nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Jack Warden, as the James Gleason character, who's probably the best thing about the movie though that isn't saying much), Best Supporting Actress (Dyan Cannon, and you already know my thoughts about her), Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score.Grade: C

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.

I saw this movie this evening for the umpteenth time. I still enjoy it as much as when I first saw it. The premise of how someone is taken up to heaven rings true. It has several great scenes and scenery. It is funny and the speech in the board room is a classic. I fell in love with Julie Christie in this film. She is so naturally beautiful. You can understand why Joe wants to make sure he remembers her come what may. This is a great film that has mixed a hard concept of afterlife, a comedy, a sport film and of great romance. Well done to Warren Beatty and Buck Henry for pulling this off.*SPOILER* The only question I have is why does he not get to remember who he really is at the end? Luckily, Betty remembers!