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!
Review of Heaven Can Wait
