Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Summary

“Well, I asked for sixty-seven million, and he said,’okay.”

In 1978, Warren Beatty was coming off of an incredible streak of films including Bonnie and Clyde, McCabe and Mrs Miller, The Parallax View, The Fortune, and Shampoo. That is a great run for any actor. Beatty had also shown his skill as a writer with Shampoo (which he wrote with Robert Towne) and his skill as a producer with Bonnie and Clyde. With those skills, he had Hollywood begging to work with him. With Heaven Can Wait, Beatty wrote a screenplay with Elaine May based on Harry Segall’s play. That play was adapted into the film Here Comes Mr. Jordan which is available on a Criterion Blu-ray. The film shares a title but no relation to the Ernst Lubitsch film Heaven Can Wait (which is also available on a Criterion Blu-ray.) For directing duties, Beatty stepped behind the camera alongside the multitalented writer and actor Buck Henry. The resulting film was both a critical and box office success that netted an impressive nine Academy Award nominations. It only won an award for Best Art Direction, but the film was such a well received picture that it was adapted again in 2003 into the Chris Rock picture Down to Earth. Paramount Pictures has given Heaven Can Wait a Blu-ray release at the same time as they have given Warren Beatty’s 1981 film Reds a release on Blu-ray. 

Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty) is an up-and-coming quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams. He has worked incredibly hard with his trainer and close friend Max Corkle (Jack Warden) for a chance to lead the team with an eye towards taking the team all the way to the Super Bowl. When he isn’t exercising and watching his diet, he plays a clarinet at his modest house. After being given the news that he will be the starting quarterback, Joe goes for a run. He runs into a tunnel as a car comes around the bend and finds himself suddenly standing in what appears to be Heaven. The area is surrounded by fluffy clouds and Joe sees groups of people being herded towards the light that should take them to their finale destination. Joe resists this idea, because he has a Super Bowl to win. At this point Joe meets a heavenly escort (Buck Henry) who explains that Joe’s time has come and he needs to come along. Joe asks to speak with his boss, and he is introduced to Mr. Jordan (James Mason.) Mr. Jordan looks into the peculiar situation and realizes that a mistake has occurred. The escort had performed his job a few seconds too early in grabbing Joe’s soul from his body on Earth. While it had seemed like Joe would have surely died, Joe’s time was not meant to come for another fifty years. Unfortunately, Joe’s body has been cremated and there is no way in which Joe can return to his prior form. They begin to search for an adequate temporary body until they can find Joe an athletic body in which to fulfill his destiny of winning the Super Bowl. Joe settles on the body of an eccentric millionaire named Mr. Farnsworth when he sees that Farnsworth’s wife Julia (Dyan Cannon) and assistant Tony Abbott (Charles Grodin) have tried to kill Farnsworth by sedating and drowning him. To Tony and Julia’s surprise, Farnsworth emerges unscathed from the bathtub. Inside Farnsworth’s body, nobody can see Joe. Joe encounters an activist named Betty Logan (Julie Christie) and is struck by her. He begins to change all of the worst business attributes of Farnsworth and begins to train for an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl while his wife and assistant continue to plot his demise.

Heaven Can Wait is a well-written and well acted comedy that is clean and lighthearted. The film consistently appeals towards the best attributes of human nature and that allows the film to feel good for the audience. It doesn’t demand a lot from the audience, but it also doesn’t make every outcome in the film match audience expectations. The characters in the film are likable and well inhabited by the actors in their roles. Warren Beatty is great in role of Joe, although he does seem a bit old to be playing a quarterback. That said, maybe he is more like a Tom Brady or Brett Favre type? Despite this one small issue with his casting, he is very fun to watch in the film. Beatty had a real ability for showing innocence and vulnerability onscreen, despite being a very A-type personality offscreen. Julie Christie is well cast in her role. She and Beatty had already acted together in enough films and had enough offscreen romance that their chemistry onscreen should land. Jack Warden is likewise well cast as Max. Warden had also been onscreen with Christie and Beatty in Shampoo. Buck Henry is funny as the anxious escort. James Mason is perfectly cast as Mr. Jordan. He commands the screen in the role and has the perfect voice for a heavenly authority figure. Dyan Cannon and Charles Grodin are very funny in the film as the two plotting lovers who want Farnsworth dead.

Heaven Can Wait is never a hilarious comedy, but it is a frequently funny and disarmingly sweet film. I can fully appreciate why people have continued to enjoy the film for more than forty years.

Video

Paramount has given Heaven Can Wait a very strong looking new transfer for this release. Presented in 1080p in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 with an MPEG-4 AVC encode, I don’t think the film has ever looked better. Fine detail is very good and the grain is well resolved. I did not detect any noticeable compression artifacts. It’s a well done presentation of the film that is sure to please fans of the picture.

Audio

Paramount has provided a Dolby True HD 2.0 Mono track that does solid justice to the original sound design of the film. The enjoyable score by Dave Grusin comes through well on the track and dialogue is crisp and clear. I didn’t have any issues with the track.

Supplements

• While there are no supplements, a Digital Copy of the Film is included.

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5 

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 0/5

Overall – 4/5

Heaven Can Wait is a well written and well acted comedy that is also disarmingly sweet and notably clean. Families should find themselves charmed by the picture’s light and breezy nature. The film is never hilarious, but it is frequently funny and the performances are great across the board. The Paramount Pictures Blu-ray release does not have any special features, but the film itself has never looked better. Fans of the film will definitely want to pick up this release.