Cute premise, but hackneyed execution
Added 9/13/2009
"Just Like Heaven" (based on the book Just Like Heaven) stars Reese Witherspoon as Elizabeth Masterson, a workaholic young doctor aspiring to become a resident physician in a San Francisco hospital. Elizabeth works double shifts (at the beginning, she's just finished 26 hours on call) and survives on espresso and cafeteria salads; she works because she truly cares about her patients and wants to do the right thing, even at the expense of her personal life. She has no love life, despite a friend's attempts to set her up on blind dates. While driving over to her sister's house on a rainy night, she's hit head-on by a semi (for some reason, this brought to mind Heart and Souls).
Three months later David Abbot (Mark Ruffalo), a landscape architect, is looking to rent an apartment with a great couch. He seems lost in personal tragedy, drowning his sorrows in copious amounts of alcohol. Shortly after he moves into Elizabeth's apartment, she appears to him, insulting his slobby housekeeping skills and demanding that he leave her apartment immediately. She disappears as quickly as she arrives, leading David to think that he must be hallucinating. David talks to his shrink friend Jack (Donal Logue) and seeks advice from Darryl (Jon Heder, Napoleon Dynamite), who claims to be able to sense ghosts. All I could sense was a rehash of Jon's Napoleon character, and the addition of Darryl felt unnecessary (or at least, a recast was called for). David and Elizabeth become grudging allies as they seek to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth's condition, coming up against hospital bureaucracy, and this takes up most of the film.
The scenery is nice enough, but there's so much artificial sweetness and logical improbabilities that go far beyond suspension of disbelief to make this workable. The various subplots (and choice of casting for Jack and Darryl) never really gelled for me. The attempts to insert physical comedy fell flat (David's seemingly spasmodic fight with a shot glass in a bar, Elizabeth attempting to "jump back" into her body, Elizabeth's sister running around wielding a meat cleaver), and Jon Heder's signature stoner hippie quickly grew grating. The script relied heavily on genre conventions (cue the "Ghostbusters" theme and references to The Joy Luck Club, and the climax felt far too scripted and forced to be effective (and there are medical impossibilities that boggle the mind). That's unfortunate, because Witherspoon's and Ruffalo's characters are likeable and their relationship has chemistry. With different writers, this could have been a great little romantic comedy, but as is it's only so-so.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Fun movie with a twist
Added 9/8/2009
I have just about decided that anything with Reese Witherspoon in it has to be good. This movie is no exception. The movie is a romantic comedy but I thought it had some twists and turns that made is less predictable and therefore, much more enjoyable than the average. The cast is great and the chemistry between the two leads (Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo) is exceptionally strong. They are both great actors and play against each other well.
While definitely a feel-good movie, this one isn't silly -- a good way to spend an evening.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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About the movie
Added 8/29/2009
An awesome movie that reminds how far you should go when you really love someone.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Just Like Heaven DVD
Added 4/29/2009
The DVD arrived on time and the product was absolutely perfect like brand new. Really enjoyed watching the movie too...
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Great Romantic Comedy
Added 4/7/2009
This is one of the best romantic comedies that I have ever seen. If you like romantic comedies you should definitely get this DVD.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Cute premise, but hackneyed execution
Added 9/13/2009
"Just Like Heaven" (based on the book Just Like Heaven) stars Reese Witherspoon as Elizabeth Masterson, a workaholic young doctor aspiring to become a resident physician in a San Francisco hospital. Elizabeth works double shifts (at the beginning, she's just finished 26 hours on call) and survives on espresso and cafeteria salads; she works because she truly cares about her patients and wants to do the right thing, even at the expense of her personal life. She has no love life, despite a friend's attempts to set her up on blind dates. While driving over to her sister's house on a rainy night, she's hit head-on by a semi (for some reason, this brought to mind Heart and Souls).
Three months later David Abbot (Mark Ruffalo), a landscape architect, is looking to rent an apartment with a great couch. He seems lost in personal tragedy, drowning his sorrows in copious amounts of alcohol. Shortly after he moves into Elizabeth's apartment, she appears to him, insulting his slobby housekeeping skills and demanding that he leave her apartment immediately. She disappears as quickly as she arrives, leading David to think that he must be hallucinating. David talks to his shrink friend Jack (Donal Logue) and seeks advice from Darryl (Jon Heder, Napoleon Dynamite), who claims to be able to sense ghosts. All I could sense was a rehash of Jon's Napoleon character, and the addition of Darryl felt unnecessary (or at least, a recast was called for). David and Elizabeth become grudging allies as they seek to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth's condition, coming up against hospital bureaucracy, and this takes up most of the film.
The scenery is nice enough, but there's so much artificial sweetness and logical improbabilities that go far beyond suspension of disbelief to make this workable. The various subplots (and choice of casting for Jack and Darryl) never really gelled for me. The attempts to insert physical comedy fell flat (David's seemingly spasmodic fight with a shot glass in a bar, Elizabeth attempting to "jump back" into her body, Elizabeth's sister running around wielding a meat cleaver), and Jon Heder's signature stoner hippie quickly grew grating. The script relied heavily on genre conventions (cue the "Ghostbusters" theme and references to The Joy Luck Club, and the climax felt far too scripted and forced to be effective (and there are medical impossibilities that boggle the mind). That's unfortunate, because Witherspoon's and Ruffalo's characters are likeable and their relationship has chemistry. With different writers, this could have been a great little romantic comedy, but as is it's only so-so.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Fun movie with a twist
Added 9/8/2009
I have just about decided that anything with Reese Witherspoon in it has to be good. This movie is no exception. The movie is a romantic comedy but I thought it had some twists and turns that made is less predictable and therefore, much more enjoyable than the average. The cast is great and the chemistry between the two leads (Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo) is exceptionally strong. They are both great actors and play against each other well.
While definitely a feel-good movie, this one isn't silly -- a good way to spend an evening.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
About the movie
Added 8/29/2009
An awesome movie that reminds how far you should go when you really love someone.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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