Heaven Can Wait
Directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry
Written by Elaine May and Warren Beatty from a play by Harry Segall
1978/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
Mr. Jordan: Haven’t you learned the rules of probability and outcome? Aren’t you aware that every question of life and death remains a probability until the outcome?
Confusingly this is not a remake of “Heaven Can Wait” (1943) but of “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” (1941). Warren Beatty takes the Robert Montgomery part but is a football player instead of a boxer.
Joe Pendleton (Beatty) is the very talented and committed quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams. He is in a head-on collision and is taken by angel Buck Henry before he is actually dead, thus depriving him of 50 years more life. His body is cremated.
Naturally, Joe is not happy and persuades heaven’s gatekeeper Mr. Jordan (James Mason) to find him another body so he can take the Rams to the Superbowl. The body is that of multi-millionaire Charles Farnsworth. That body is not going to last long if his wife (Dyan Cannon) and her lover (Charles Grodin) have their way. Joe/Farnsworth buys the Ram on the condition he can play quarterback.
Betty Logan (Julie Christie) is an activist who breaks up the Farnsworth company’s board meeting. Turns out she and Joe actually agree on politics and they are soon a couple. With Jack Warden as Joe/Farnsworth’s trainer.
I saw this in the theater back in the day and thought it was just OK. The years have not improved it. The highlights for me were Mason and Cannon, who is hilarious as the greedy wife. This film was up for numerous Oscars so what do I know?
Heaven Can Wait won the Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. It was nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Warden), Best Supporting Actress (Cannon), Best Adapted Screenplay (Elaine May and Beatty); Best Cinematography and Best Original Score.
