You know, I had never actually heard of Heaven Can Wait until recently! This is a 1978 sports/comedy/drama movie that saw Warren Beaty nominated for not one, but four Academy Awards! That is one heck of an achievement and with a bit of movie trivia like that. I am shocked that I had never seen or at least heard of this movie before, but I kind of had.
How to Download Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait was relesaed on June 28, 1978. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like Warren Beaty, check out his performance in Dick Tracy (1990).
The Movie Review
I say kind of had because in 2001 a movie called Down To Earth starring Chris Rock was released and I just ate up anything Chris Rock was a part of (I still do) turns out that Down To Earth was a kind of remake/reimagining of Heaven Can Wait. Which itself was a remake of another movie called Here Comes Mr. Jordan which was a film adaptation of a stage play from 1941 called…. Heaven Can Wait! Man, this movie has quite an interesting history that is for sure.
The reason I ended up watching this was that I saw the Blu-Ray for cheap at a local 2nd hand store and as I like Warren Beaty, I decided to give it a try. The movie is about a man called Joe. Joe is the quarterback for the LA Rams and he has dreams of leading them to the Super Bowl.
A Twist of Fate for Joe
However, fate has something else in store for Joe. You see, there is this guardian angel that thinks Joe is about to be killed so he takes his soul out of his body and up to heaven. To be fair, this guardian angel thought that he was saving Joe from suffering. Yet, it is revealed that Joe was not actually going to die! Because of this, up in Heaven, it is revealed that Joe will be allowed to go back to Earth in a body that is free.
Joe’s New Life as Leo
This is where things get weird. Joe picks the body of a man called Leo, a rich guy who has been killed by his cheating wife and her lover. Joe as Leo uses his wealth to buy the LA Rams and put himself back in the team to try and win the Super Bowl. All the while he has to deal with a love interest, strange stuff happening to his body and soul, and Leo’s wife and her lover trying to kill him again.
A Fun and Wacky Comedy
Heaven Can Wait is a fun and wacky comedy and I think had I managed to see this as a kid in the 80s, I probably would have a lot of nostalgia for it. I did have some fun with the movie and I think that Warren Beaty gives one hell of a performance as multiple characters but in the same body. As it is, I liked it, but I did not love if that makes sense.
A Film for Football Fans
To be fair, I am also not a huge American Football fan so perhaps if I was, I would have gotten more of a kick out of Joe and his quest to win the Super Bowl. Hey, I am glad that I found out about this movie and I can see why so many people who watched it back in the 70s and 80s loved it. While I may not be in a rush to watch it again, it is a movie that I am going to keep in my collection. That alone tells you that this is a movie I liked, but as crazy as this may sound to some people, I think I prefer the Chris Rock version of this story!
