Movie Review Just Like Heaven

Just Like Heaven (2005)

Directed by Mark Waters

Written by Peter Tolan, Leslie Dixon

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, Jon Heder

Release Date September 16th, 2005

Published September 16th, 2005 

A romantic comedy that marries elements of the music of the Cure with the romance of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir has far more ambition than anything that genre has seen in a long while. Throw in that it's directed by the director of Mean Girls and Freaky Friday and stars Reese Witherspoon and you have an absolutely can't miss formula.

Just Like Heaven is very much a formula picture but it's the best version of that classic romantic comedy formula than anyone has made since Tom and Meg last embraced.

Reese Witherspoon stars in Just Like Heaven as Dr. Elizabeth Masterson, a resident at a San Francisco hospital with zero social life. 24 to 36 hour shifts are nothing new to Elizabeth, nor is falling asleep in her lunch. But despite her dedication one cannot help but notice the twinge of loneliness in her eyes as her  co-workers discuss family and friends. Not that Elizabeth does not have them.  She simply has no time to spend with them.

Finally, after getting a much sought after promotion, Elizabeth gets a night off. She is on her way to her sister Abby's (Dina Spybey), for dinner with her family and a blind date. Unfortunately, Elizabeth never makes it to dinner that night. After assuring Abby she was on her way, Elizabeth crosses the path of an oncoming truck and suffers a major accident.

Cut to three months later and the story shifts to David Abbott (Mark Ruffalo) a widower searching for a new apartment. Fate leads David to choose the apartment that once belonged to Elizabeth and, to David's frightened surprise, is still her spirit's home. At first it's an occasional run in here and there that David thinks could be just a misunderstanding or voices in his head as he has been drinking a lot recently.

Soon it's clear that this is all for real and David and Elizabeth set out to find out just what happened to her and in the process they fall madly in love. There's more to the plot than my description states but I don't want to spoil the fun. If you've read a number of reviews already you probably know the twists and turns but I'm still not going to spoil them myself.

Living man falls in love with a ghostly girl is not an original plot but I doubt it's ever been as wonderfully entertaining as it is in Just Like Heaven. Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo have chemistry to burn as the man and his ghost and director Mark Waters have just the right touch of classic romantic comedy and modern movie magic. Waters is quickly becoming a master of light hearted material mined for big laughs and a tug at the heartstrings.

Waters is absolutely blessed in the casting of Just Like Heaven, not only with his terrific stars but in the supporting cast, which features Donal Logue, Dina Spybey (who happens to be the director's wife), and the brilliant Jon Heder who combines just enough of his iconic Napoleon Dynamite with a relatively normal looking character to deliver some of the film's best moments.

The script by Peter Tolan and Leslie Dixon is based on a novel by Marc Levy called "If Only It Were True" which was actually optioned by producers even before it was published. With the paucity of new and different ways for romantic comedy couples to meet, it is rather cute finding one where a live guy falls for a seemingly dead girl.  At the very least it is refreshing.

As put in play by Mark Waters and his excellent team, including Tolan and Dixon, cinematographer Daryn Okada and production designer Cary White, this concept comes magically and romantically to life. The characters are smart and wonderfully likable and the San Francisco locations, including screenwriter Dixon's own apartment standing in as Elizabeth and David's apartment, are gorgeous. The filmmakers could cut back on the fake smoke and soft lighting that creeps in a few too many times but overall the attention to detail is lovely.

I absolutely must praise the film's soundtrack headed up by Composer Rolfe Kent and Cure singer Robert Smith. The soundtrack features The Cure's original "Just Like Heaven" and a lovely cover by Kate Melua. I've never been a big fan of cover tunes but the soundtrack overflows with good ones from the title track to Kelis covering the Pretenders' "Brass In Pocket" to Bowling For Soup's very funny take on "Ghostbusters".

The soundtrack also features Beck, Pete Yorn and original recordings from Composer Rolfe Kent, who was nominated for a Golden Globe last year for his work on the Sideways soundtrack.

Despite the live boy/ghost girl approach, Just Like Heaven is still a traditional romantic comedy and as tired as that genre is this film has none of the lethargy or stagnation that most recent romantic comedies suffer from. That has everything to do with this exemplary cast. Reese Witherspoon is back after dipping into the Oscar bait in Vanity Fair. She has fully inherited the romantic comedy crown from Julia Roberts and has become the rare actress to receive bigger billing than her male co-stars.

Mark Ruffalo continues to show astonishing range by choosing unique material. He was last seen as a gritty cop chasing Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx in Collateral. Before that he made another bubbly effusive romantic comedy, the candycoated 13 Going On 30. That film was not as smart or well made as Just Like Heaven, but both showcase Mark Ruffalo's quirky approach to the genre. Ruffalo treats even the lightest material with an actor's eye toward motivation and logic. He has a natural approach to the material that refuses to be manipulated by the plot.

Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder has been hyped prominently in the film's marketing and though his role is not as big as it may seem from the commercials and trailers, Heder nevertheless makes a great impression. Playing an oddball bookstore employee with empathic powers, he can sense the presence and feelings of ghosts.  Heder does not so much shed his Napoleon-ism as play to it and then away from it. This character is smarter and more stylish but retains the endearing oddness of Napoleon.

There are plot holes in Just Like Heaven as there are in any typical genre picture. The key to overcoming those holes is to create characters who can see audiences past any illogic simply with their appeal. Witherspoon, Ruffalo and the amazing supporting cast with their easy rapport and synergy completely gloss over any logic problems or editing missteps, allowing the audience to rejoice in the magic realism and the sheer joy of romance.

I despise the term chick flick! The simpleminded anti-feminism of the phrase grates me. It's a term people use to simply dismiss a film that they have not seen. What a shame because films as funny and well crafted as Just Like Heaven deserve the widest possible audiences they can get. With so few good movies made every year, to dismiss a movie simply for its surface is such a waste.

Movie Review Stealing Harvard

Stealing Harvard (2002) 

Directed by Bruce McCulloch

Written by Peter Tolan

Starring Jason Lee, Tom Green, Leslie Mann, Dennis Farina, Megan Mullally, Richard Jenkins, John C. McGinley

Release Date September 13th, 2002 

Published September 12th, 2002 

In Freddy Got Fingered, Tom Green broke every rule of good filmmaking. In doing so, he created one of the more inept films in history. On the other hand, Green should be commended for one of the boldest attempts at comedy we've ever seen. To his credit, he put himself on the line, and though he failed spectacularly, the attempt was brave and bold. If only his new film Stealing Harvard had taken some of the risks that Green did in Freddy Got Fingered, rather than churning out yet another market-tested demographically- safe comedy.

Stealing Harvard stars View Askew legend Jason Lee as John Plummer, a soon-to-be-married medical supply salesman. Years ago, John made a promise to his niece that if she got into college, he would pay for it. In the meantime, John met and fell in love with Elaine (Leslie Mann). They were engaged and agreed to get married when they accumulated enough money to buy a house. It is no surprise then that as soon as John has enough money to get married, he finds out his niece has been accepted to Harvard and needs money.

From here, the film tweaks one of my movie pet peeves. A character can easily dispel a difficult situation by simply telling the truth, but doesn't because of the plot. There is absolutely no reason for John not to tell Elaine about his problem, except that if he does there wouldn't be a movie. I can't stand this trope, it's a plague inflicted by lazy, hack screenwriters of the world.

Therefore, instead of simply telling the truth, John enlists his buddy Duff (Green) who suggests they steal the money. After a series of outlandish robbery attempts and bids to cut deals with lowlifes, John finally comes clean with Elaine, who has the brilliant idea to steal from her father (who is also John's hateful boss (Dennis Farina). She could just ask her dad for the money, and he would likely give it to her ,despite his hatred of her fiancée, but if she did that we wouldn't have the ridiculous climax and tacked on a happy ending.

Director Bruce Mcculloch, formerly of Kids In The Hall, may not have much of an eye for story, but he does manage a light quick tone and a few solid laughs. Lee is solid though some of the material is beneath his talent. Green, once again playing himself, draws some of the biggest laughs. He has an amazing talent for physical humor, and because he is so unpredictable, the comic potential of his character is attention grabbing.

Stealing Harvard never had a chance to be a good film. Coming from the big studio system, this film was engineered with demographics ahead of script. Screenwriter Peter Tolan writes as if he was creating the marketing campaign as he was creating the story. It is truly a shame, with the talent there was a very funny movie to be made. Stealing Harvard just wasn't it.