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Back Shelf Beauties
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Just Like Heaven I sit here heartbroken with one Goth tear slowly dripping down my cheek. The rumor was true - The Cure's Just Like Heaven actually appears in the movie Just Like Heaven starring Reese Witherspoon (and they have some stupid Michelle Branch/Jewel wannabe singing it like a sappy 90's folk love song! Those blaspheming bastards!). Part of me, deep down in that place where hope and naiveté exist on some sort of existential life support, still hopes it was the evil record company that sold the song to the studio, because it happens all the time, but I just know Robert Smith was sitting there one day, teasing his hair, got a phone call and said, "for that much I'll sing the damn song myself in every bloody theater in America!" I guess it wouldn't bother me so much if I hadn't thought The Cure would be the last band in the world to sell out, and the song didn't have a special meaning for me. Now, it's just another cherished memory hijacked by corporate Hollywood to make me buy their latest product. Witherspoon stars as Elizabeth - a workaholic doctor in San Francisco on the verge of getting promoted to Emergency Room Attending Physician (I know that's a big deal because I watch ER). Everything seems to be working out for her professionally, but, personally, she doesn't have a special man or many friends in her life. On the way to a blind date set up by her sister, Abby (Dina Waters), and fearing he's yet another undatable type (defined in the movie as, "fat guy with a good sense of humor," not that I take that personally or anything), Elizabeth gets into a horrible car accident. Months later, David (Mark Ruffalo), sublets her apartment, not knowing what happened to the previous resident, and not sharing the same fastidiousness. One night, Elizabeth's spirit shows up and demands David leave her apartment. While David thinks he might be going crazy and imagining things, he soon realizes Elizabeth doesn't know what happened to her, and can't remember her life before the accident, so the two go on a quest to bring back her memory, hoping she will move on to her next existence. Will Elizabeth be shocked at her lonely life before the accident? Can a spirit and a human fall in love? Of course, they are going to fall in love! It's a Reese Witherspoon movie, so that's practically required in the contract and the opposite would cause mass rioting among the audience who come to this movie looking for love, hope, romance and a little crying among gal pals (And you don't want to see that riot. If it happens, you just pray to your God and hope you picked the right one). Although, I was offended when Witherspoon's character gives us that "fat guy with a good sense of humor" comment (we prefer "not if he was the last man on earth") and the whole The Cure thing, Just Like Heaven is a cute, fun and romantic movie perfect for ladies night out or a third date. Just Like Heaven is everything you would expect from a Reese Witherspoon movie. It's like comfort food or a familiar warm blanket you wrap yourself up in when recovering from a cold. Writers Leslie Dixon and Peter Tolan (based on the novel by Marc Levy) do a wonderful job creating escapist entertainment full of those special moments the audience will talk about while leaving the theater (and wish some guy would do for them some day, but only fat guys with a good sense of humor would put in this kind of effort, so they are out of luck), while director Mark Waters slowly builds the love story between David and Elizabeth to heartbreaking levels as we move towards the emotional climax. While the entire scenario is unbelievable, Waters, Dixon and Tolan slowly pull us in and let the audience suspend disbelief as we get to know the characters and fall in love with them. They create fun scenes of Elizabeth and David bickering, getting to know each other, and watching all of the phony mystics who think they can drive Elizabeth's spirit from the apartment. Of course, none of this would be funny or lovable without Witherspoon and Ruffalo. Our two leads share great chemistry together, which helps make Just Like Heaven better than average. Witherspoon brings her trademark everywoman spunkiness, with a side of sadness and longing, while Ruffalo shows he can be a lovable, scruffy shlub (who has a great backstory in the movie). The two share sparkling exchanges of dialogue, warm your heart in the romantic scenes and show how much the characters slowly grow to care about each other as the movie progresses (it doesn't happen all in one scene, which is nice to see for a change). Even the supporting characters are a step above what you normally find in a movie like this as Jon "Napoleon Dynamite" Heder brings a confident swagger to his role as a book store worker (he'll always be able to pick up a supporting role in comedies if continues to develop these mad acting skillz), while Donal Logue doesn't get enough time as David's psychiatrist best pal, but is wonderfully wacky when on screen. The ending action scene was a little too over the top and dark for this movie (involving the theft of a body), while much of the film is predictable, but Just Like Heaven is enjoyable and serves its purpose. 3 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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