# I just rewatched Heaven Can Wait (1978) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 19, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087 "2014-03-19T16:04:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/21 "2014-07-10T01:11:01Z")
I have a confession. Whenever anyone mentions _Heaven’s Gate_ as being the biggest bomb in the history of moviedom, I think they’re talking about _Heaven Can Wait_. I have only recently discovered what _Heaven’s Gate_ was even about (it’s a cowboy movie!). Anyway, I find Warren Beatty unwatchable. He creeps me out. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/22 "2014-07-10T01:20:48Z")
Grodin has been in some excellent movies. If you liked Heaven Can Wait, try Dave (1993) with Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver. Very likeable film. > **[Dave (1993) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106673/)** > > Dave: Directed by Ivan Reitman. With Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn. An uncanny Presidential lookalike named Dave is recruited by the Secret Service to become a momentary stand-in for the President of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/23 "2014-07-10T03:50:04Z")
Yes, I like _Dave_ very much - probably my favorite political comedy. Grodin is also very good in _Midnight Run_ with Robert De Niro. > **[Midnight Run (1988) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095631/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)** > > Midnight Run: Directed by Martin Brest. With Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton. A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after... ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/24 "2014-07-10T05:15:21Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > I thought this too. What are we beside a collection of past experience and memories? Well, maybe there are innate abilities and character traits too, but did he even get to keep those? > > I think they were giving it a romantic twist by implying that Julie Christie would still (somehow) recognize him and fill him in about who he really was. It still seemed like a cop out on the part of the angels, but that’s just a small quibble on an otherwise pretty good movie. > > Trivia: Joe as Farnsworth paid $67 million to buy the Rams, which was supposed to show what a rube he was. Nowadays an NFL franchise goes for a billion and change, so it’s not looking like such a bad investment. Joe Pendleton dies. Leo Farnsworth starts dating Julie Christie around the same time he buys the Rams. Leo Farnsworth makes himself (!) QB of the Rams sending Jarrett to the bench. Farnsworth is murdered. and Julie Christie starts dating Jarrett. Sounds like one of those ID channel ‘true crime shows’. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/25 "2014-07-10T05:46:49Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Yes, yes, a thousand times YES! I didn’t think I’d like it because I don’t like football, but that’s not necessary because it’s not about football. I haven’t seen it for ages but back in the day when it played on cable all the time I’d watch it whenever possible. I seem to recall it being on HBO about 1979 or 1980. Think I watched it that way. But yes, I remember it being very good. I too don’t like football, but I find I do like football movies. For some reason, those are always interesting. I guess it’s because they’re never really about the game itself. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/26 "2014-07-10T13:14:27Z")
This one of those movies I am only familiar with because it was parodied in one of the MAD magazines I owned as a kid that I reread over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/27 "2014-07-10T15:21:36Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > This one of those movies I am only familiar with because it was parodied in one of the MAD magazines I owned as a kid that I reread over and over. “You’re drunk! I’m Tom Jarrett.” “Gee, just when I was starting to understand this movie.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/28 "2014-07-10T16:51:45Z")
I saw it at thge theater when it came out, and I thought it was a decently enjoyable comedy. But my mind was blown by all the Oscar nominations it received. Cripes, romantic comedies almost NEVER get that kind of Oscar love… and it wasn’t THAT great anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/29 "2019-01-24T03:38:20Z")
Bumped. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Former owner: He got my team. The son of a bitch got my team. > Advisor to former owner: What kind of pressure did he use, Milt? > Former owner: All I asked was sixty-seven million, and he said “okay.” > Advisor to former owner: Ruthless bastard. > > I think elsewhere in the movie somebody said the team was only worth about $11 million. $67 million in 1978 dollars is quite a hunk of change, about $240 million today. That might be enough to buy a team, or at least a sizable chunk of one. Just saw it again, and loved it all over again. Yes, he paid $67 million; one of his board members is pissed off that he overpaid for the team, as it had a book value of only $19 million. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/30 "2019-01-24T03:53:09Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Yes, yes, a thousand times YES! I didn’t think I’d like it because I don’t like football, but that’s not necessary because it’s not about football. Whoah, that’s just crazy talk. It’s the best NFL film I have ever seen with all the ins and outs nuances about the running of an NFL team, etc. It was especially compelling when the movie took a dramatic turn towards…ah, it can wait. Batesville Casket Company in the heezy! ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/31 "2019-01-24T04:21:04Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqt-O9F6AkQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqt-O9F6AkQ) > [Heaven Can Wait (1978 film) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_Can_Wait_(1978_film)) > [Heaven Can Wait (1978) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077663/) > > I remember really enjoying it when it first came out, and I have to say, it was just as good this time. Funny, warm and winning - a bittersweet supernatural comedy/romance. > > Warren Beatty and Julie Christie have great chemistry and both look fantastic, Jack Warden is great as the crusty football coach, Dyan Cannon is a suitably scheming ice queen, Charles Grodin is deadpan perfection (his can-you-believe-this-guy? look at Cannon when he’s just patiently explained insider trading to a naive Beatty is comedy gold), and James Mason is the most calm, reassuring, suave angel ever. A fine supporting cast. Great gags, including a cannon (!) as Chekhov’s gun. A timeless message, that love is even stronger than death. > > The movie had, I think, one of the earliest viral ad campaigns ever - I remember the wordless graphic of a winged Beatty looking down at his stopwatch appeared in newspapers several weeks before the movie came out. > > Anyone else a fan? One of my all-time faves. I draw on it for my James Mason impression. and i can sing you the theme song. Edit: I also love the unrelated film of the same name from the 40’s with Don Ameche. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/32 "2019-01-24T04:50:29Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > The movie had, I think, one of the earliest viral ad campaigns ever - I remember the wordless graphic of a winged Beatty looking down at his stopwatch appeared in newspapers several weeks before the movie came out. Heh, I heard - I’m hoping apocryphal, kinda - that all the posters had to get recalled, just before release, because that certain area in those grey sweats looked too camel-toe-y to Beatty, and had to get a lump air-brushed in. Always fantasized (ok, well, not fantasized) about him being Ned’s brother. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/33 "2019-01-24T13:38:24Z")
I wouldn’t call this a Zombie thread. In view of the subject matter, maybe it’s a sort of Re-Incarnated Thread. I liked _Heaven Can Wait_, too. When they first advertised it, they put up movie posters of the sweat-suited, winged Warren Beatty, but with absolutely no words, so it wasn’t obvious what movie they were starting to advertise. I did prefer it to the original _Here Comes Mr. Jordan_, but liked that one, too. “Heaven Can Wait” was the title of the play both were based on, and was the working title for th original film. I didn’t like the title “Here comes Mr. Jordan”, and used to think that they couldn’t use the title for some legal reason, but nothing I’ve read corroborates that – it might have been the studio’s decision for some money-grubbing reason. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/34 "2019-01-24T14:42:36Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > One of my all-time faves. I draw on it for my James Mason impression. and i can sing you the theme song. Ha! All of this applies to me. I saw this at age 12 with my parents and it is one of my fondest memories. Why would a tween girl do an impression of an older man, you ask? Because I could:) And it made my mom laugh. I taught myself to play the tune on my clarinet but I didn’t know there were any words. I can still hear it in my mind. Not to sound like an old fogy, but do they make movies like this anymore? I can’t think, offhand, of a recent movie that is aimed at the whole family, i.e. sophisticated enough for adults to enjoy yet still appropriate and fun for kids. Maybe the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ series? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/35 "2019-01-24T14:56:04Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Ha! All of this applies to me. I saw this at age 12 with my parents and it is one of my fondest memories. Why would a tween girl do an impression of an older man, you ask? Because I could:) And it made my mom laugh. > I taught myself to play the tune on my clarinet but I didn’t know there were any words. I can still hear it in my mind. > > Not to sound like an old fogy, but do they make movies like this anymore? I can’t think, offhand, of a recent movie that is aimed at the whole family, i.e. sophisticated enough for adults to enjoy yet still appropriate and fun for kids. Maybe the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ series? I thought the Disney and Pixar cartoons strived for that sort of thing. Have a look at _Incredibles 2_, for instance, for a recent example. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/36 "2019-01-24T15:43:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I thought the Disney and Pixar cartoons strived for that sort of thing. Have a look at _Incredibles 2_, for instance, for a recent example. Could be, I guess, but my parents, for instance, would not have taken the family out to see an animated movie. Not that I’m knocking them, I watch them when they come on tv but I would think I’m in the minority. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/37 "2019-01-24T16:04:27Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I am vaguely disturbed by the notion that Joe Pendleton loses all his personal memories and assumes those of Thomas Jarrett, the guy whose body he takes over. Will he get those memories back when “Jarrett” dies (presumably in 2025, Pendleton’s original scheduled death). If he doesn’t, hasn’t the soul of Joe Pendleton essentially been destroyed? If one’s soul is entirely different from one’s memories, then what is the individual value of one’s soul? Will Jarrett/Pendleton meet Jarrett in Heaven? > It’s quite easy to overthink this movie. What an odd coincidence. For some reason, out of nowhere (I haven’t seen the movie in years) I was thinking about this exact same thing on the drive home from work the other night. And then this zombie… er, reincarnated… thread pops up. :eek: Still one of my favorite movies. Everybody in it plays their part so perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/38 "2019-01-24T16:54:49Z")
as far as NFL team values now, the Panthers just sold for ~$2 billion and they are not a major market team. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/39 "2019-01-24T20:02:48Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > as far as NFL team values now, the Panthers just sold for ~$2 billion and they are not a major market team. Ruthless bastard. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087/40 "2019-01-24T20:05:46Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I am vaguely disturbed by the notion that Joe Pendleton loses all his personal memories and assumes those of Thomas Jarrett, the guy whose body he takes over. Will he get those memories back when “Jarrett” dies (presumably in 2025, Pendleton’s original scheduled death). If he doesn’t, hasn’t the soul of Joe Pendleton essentially been destroyed? If one’s soul is entirely different from one’s memories, then what is the individual value of one’s soul? Will Jarrett/Pendleton meet Jarrett in Heaven? > It’s quite easy to overthink this movie. Other little things…so without some intervention the Rams would have lost their starting QB in an accident and their backup QB killed in the frigging Superbowl?? I thought it was pretty cool, the QB trailing the final play and picking up the fumble for the winning score. Maybe Brady will do that…nahhhh…that would require him to run and trail the play. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-rewatched-heaven-can-wait-1978/684087.md?page=3)