HotToastyRag 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.

adonis98-743-186503 A Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an overanxious angel before he was meant to die, returns to life in the body of a recently murdered millionaire. The insane plot and the good and talent cast can't make Heaven Can Wait work since it's jokes and it's characters are more than boring and bland and the whole package fails to work in the end. (0/10)

jqdoe This movie has the WORST ending of any movie I have ever seen, period. It totally ruins what was up until then a charming and entertaining fantasy movie and makes you want to throw a shoe at your TV for all the time you wasted watching what went before. There is no other way to explain this than to describe the ending, so again , , , SPOILERS BELOW!The ENTIRE movie centers around the effort to find a new body for the consciousness of Joe Pendleton (played by Warren Beatty), a QB for the LA Rams whose consciousness was mistakenly removed from his body many years too soon by a rookie angel who wrongfully assumed that he was about to be killed in an accident. The head angel, played by the great James Mason, takes over and finds the body of a freshly murdered millionaire to host Joe's consciousness temporarily, until a permanent replacement body is found. Eventually, the millionaire is murdered again, and Joe's consciousness is once again left without a home. However, Joe's backup QB for the Rams, Tom, "conveniently" dies during the Super Bowl, and head angel invites Joe's consciousness to inhabit Tom's body before anyone realizes that Tom is dead. Joe's consciousness inside Tom's body leads the Rams to a comeback victory, and is the Super Bowl hero.So far, so good.Then, the viewer gets a giant punch to the gut. The head angel informs Joe that he must return to his duties, and that after he leaves, Joe will have no memories of his life as Joe, or of his time in the body of the millionaire that he temporarily inhabited. He will just become Tom. The End.Huh?!?!? We just spent almost two hours watching a journey to find a permanent home for Joe's consciousness. And at the end . . . Joe's consciousness is totally obliterated for no good reason that is explained to anyone! Heck, if Joe had just died in the accident at the start at least his consciousness would now be in heaven. But after two hours of this movie, it is as if Joe never existed. And if the Tom, the backup QB, really dies and his consciousness is in heaven, then how can Tom's consciousness also still be alive in Tom's body, since the consciousness in Tom's body is now "just Tom," with no more traces of Joe remaining. What was the point of everything that happened in the movie?Answer: Zero. Which, if you are smart, is how much time you will waste watching this abomination.

Blueghost Films like this used to get made a lot. It was mildly heavy here and there, but it was a kind of comedy that dealt into the "what if hereafter" genre. Beatty stars as a would all-star quarterback who is given a setback (of sorts). Mason heads up a small team of "helpers" who try to put him back on track, only they wind up screwing things up in an even bigger way.Things sort of work out, but to find out how you have to see the film. Julie Christie, Dyane Cannon, Jack Warden and Charles Grodin create an all star cast to bring to us the tale of a man who is waiting for the idiots who put him in his predicament the okay to move on.It's a kind of rebirth story, only Beatty's Joe Pendleton doesn't have any issues regarding his health or social stature. He is truly the victim of poor circumstance. This is a somewhat slow paced adult comedy. The jokes aren't fired at you from all quarters. The film actually lets you have some time to digest what is happening so you can better absorb and appreciate the situation presented.To me this is an adult film meant to be enjoyed by mature people. And by that I don't mean sex. I mean this is old fashioned film making telling a kind of old fashioned story of a man getting a second chance. You don't see films like this much anymore. Or rather all of the serious adult films these days are low budget artistic efforts, about affairs, or are filled with teenage raunch humor; i.e. kids and adults who stayed kids enjoy the big budget stuff these days. "Heaven Can Wait" was meant for a different audience for a different time. I miss both that kind of film making and that kind of audience. They will never return at this rate, but one can always hope.I'll reserve judgment on the personalities involved in this film. Each has their own set of problems in the limelight. But the art they've created here is worthy of viewing.Enjoy.