Themes: Football Players, Reincarnation, Supernatural Romance
Main Cast: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, James Mason, Jack Warden, Charles Grodin
Release Year: 1978
Country: US
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Opting for light entertainment after the critical satire of Shampoo (1975), producer-director-writer-star Warren Beatty remade the 1941 comic fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Dimly amiable L.A. Rams quarterback Joe Pendleton (Beatty) is prematurely called to Heaven by an over-eager escort (Buck Henry, who co-directed) after a traffic accident. When archangel Mr. Jordan (James Mason) discovers the error, he offers to return Joe to his body, only to find that it has been cremated. On the verge of playing in the Super Bowl, Joe demands a fit body rather than the old about-to-be-murdered industrialist Farnsworth he has been offered, but he reconsiders when he sees environmentalist Betty Logan (Julie Christie) in Farnsworth's house. Assuming Farnsworth's body while keeping his sweet self, Joe hires his beloved coach Max Corkle (Jack Warden) to get him in shape (after convincing Max who he really is), sets Farnsworth's business on an eco-friendly path, and romances Betty. Farnsworth's homicidal wife (Dyan Cannon) and secretary (Charles Grodin), however, are still determined to succeed in their plan to kill him. When Mr. Jordan finally finds the Super Bowl body Joe wanted, Joe has to trade his old self for the new life -- but will he remember his love for Betty? Heaven Can Wait offered contemporary yet old-fashioned escapism and tapped into the late-1970s vogue for nostalgic fun, becoming one of 1978's most popular summer movies after Grease. Updating the original while following its blueprint, Beatty and co-writer Elaine May switched Joe's sport and turned Joe into a man of his '70s moment, adoring Betty for her convictions and favoring "green" policies over corporate greed. Gently breathing life into a classic form, Heaven Can Wait found romantic innocence in a jaded time, and it went on to receive nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Review
It might be named after Ernst Lubitsch's 1943 masterpiece, Heaven Can Wait, but this 1978 Warren Beatty vehicle was actually a remake of the 1941 classic Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Not bad company for co-director, co-writer and star Beatty to keep. He may have set out to fill some pretty big shoes, but he chose his collaborators well, recruiting co-director Buck Henry and screenwriter Elaine May to help re-create an intelligent, old-fashioned story. The snappy, amiable fun remained intact, making it one of the biggest hits of the year. It took much convincing for Beatty to get his ex-girlfriend, Julie Christie, in the role as his leading lady. When she finally agreed, she wasn't happy to be doing it and the resulting performance isn't her best. Legend has it that during the filming of an actual scene -- one where the voices weren't being recorded -- she told Beatty that she couldn't believe that he was still making such vapid films as this one. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
George P. Gaines - Art Director, Edwin O'Donovan - Art Director, Richard Bruno - Costume Designer, Arlene Encell - Costume Designer, Theadora Van Runkle - Costume Designer, Michael W. Hoffman - Costume Designer, Warren Beatty - Director, Buck Henry - Director, Don Zimmerman - Editor, Robert Jones - Editor, Howard W. Koch - Executive Producer, Charles H. Maguire - Executive Producer, Dave Grusin - Composer (Music Score), Lee C. Harman - Makeup, Paul Sylbert - Production Designer, William A. Fraker - Cinematographer, Warren Beatty - Producer, Buck Henry - Producer, Charles H. Maguire - Producer, George P. Gaines - Set Designer, Robert MacDonald - Special Effects, Tom Overton - Sound/Sound Designer, John K. Wilkinson - Sound/Sound Designer, Warren Beatty - Screenwriter, Elaine May - Screenwriter, Harry Segall - Play Author
Heaven Can Wait is a 1978comedy film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry. The screenplay by Beatty, Elaine May and an uncredited Robert Towne is adapted from the original stage play Heaven Can Wait by Harry Segall. The original music score was composed by Dave Grusin. Beatty also 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.
Heaven Can Wait is a remake of the 1941 film Here Comes Mr. Jordan, and should not be confused with the 1943 film of the same name. The 1978 film was subsequently remade in 2001 as Down to Earth, a film starring Chris Rock. Beatty had initially wanted Muhammed Ali to play the central character, but due to Ali's continued commitment to boxing, Beatty changed the character from a boxer to an American football player and played it himself.[1]
Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty), a backup quarterback of the American football team Los Angeles Rams, is looking forward to leading his team to the Super Bowl when he is involved in a terrible collision with a truck. An over-anxious guardian angel on his first assignment (Buck Henry) plucks Joe out of his body early in the mistaken belief that his death is imminent, and Pendleton arrives in the afterlife.
Once there, he refuses to believe that his time was up, and upon investigation, the mysterious Mr. Jordan (James Mason) discovers that he is right; he is not destined to die until much later. Unfortunately, his body has already been cremated, so a new body must be found. After rejecting several possibilities (men who are about to die), Joe is finally persuaded to accept the body of millionaire Leo Farnsworth. Farnsworth has just been drugged and drowned in his bathtub by his wife Julia (Dyan Cannon) and her lover, Farnsworth's personal secretary Tony Abbott (Charles Grodin).
Julia and Tony are naturally confused when Farnsworth appears, alive and well. Joe/Farnsworth buys the Los Angeles Rams in order to lead them to the Super Bowl as their quarterback. In order to succeed, he must first convince, then secure the aid of, long-time friend and trainer Max Corkle (Jack Warden) to get his new body into shape.
At the same time, he falls in love with an environmental justice activist, Betty Logan (Julie Christie), who disapproves of what the industrialist's company is doing. However, Julia and Abbott are not quite ready to give up on their murderous plans, and Abbott shoots Farnsworth dead. Joe then occupies another body, that of quarterback Thomas Jarrett, whose death is imminent. Joe leads the Rams to victory. However, Mr. Jordan then removes Joe's memory of his past life and departs. Joe becomes Thomas Jarrett and the cosmic balance is restored; yet Joe meets Betty again as she comes looking for him in the stadium, and the film ends with them getting close again.
The year after the film's release, 'life imitated art' when the Rams made the Super Bowl and played... the Pittsburgh Steelers, their fictional opponents in this film. (No Hollywood ending, however: in Super Bowl XIV, the Rams lost 31-19.)
In addition to the former Rams football players mentioned above, some well-known sportscasters also appear, playing familiar roles. Bryant Gumble is seen in the backgound of one scene 'on the box', delivering a TV sportscast. Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis can be heard doing the Super Bowl play-by-play commentary. Dick Enberg conducts an abortive post-game interview of Joe Pendleton/Tom Jarrett.
