Just like Heaven (2005 film)

Just Like Heaven
Promotional poster for Just Like Heaven
Directed by	Mark Waters
Written by	Marc Levy (novel) Peter Tolan Leslie Dixon
Produced by	Walter F. Parkes Laurie MacDonald
Starring	Reese Witherspoon Mark Ruffalo Donal Logue Jon Heder Dina Spybey Ben Shenkman Rosalind Chao Caroline Aaron Ivana Miličević Ron Canada
Music by	Rolfe Kent
Distributed by	DreamWorks
Release date	September 16, 2005 (US)
Running time	95 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	~ US$58,000,000
Box office	$99,076,569

Just Like Heaven is a romantic comedy film released on September 14, 2003, in the U.S. and Canada. Set in San Francisco, it was directed by Mark Waters and stars Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, and Jon Heder. It reached #1 in the United States box office, though it earned much less than anticipated. It is based on the novel If Only It Were True (Et si c'était vrai...) by Marc Levy. I See You, a Bollywood film, has a similar storyline.

Just Like Heaven is the latest-released live-action film from DreamWorks to be sold to Soros Strategic Partners and Dune Entertainment II. This transaction was made soon after Paramount Pictures became the parent of DreamWorks, which has since become independent again (though Paramount still owns distribution and other ancillary rights to the Soros/Dune-controlled library).

Plot

Elizabeth Masterson (Reese Witherspoon), a young doctor whose work is her whole life, had a serious car accident while on her way to a blind date. Three months later, David Abbott (Mark Ruffalo), a landscape architect recovering from the death of his wife, moves into the apartment that had been Elizabeth's.

Elizabeth appears to David at the apartment. Though seemingly a normal person, she has ghostly properties and abilities: she can suddenly appear and disappear, move through walls, and once takes over his actions. When they meet, they are both surprised, as Elizabeth is not aware yet of her condition.

For the most part, David is the only one who can see Elizabeth, leading others to believe that he is hallucinating and talking to himself. It is later revealed that one of Elizabeth's young nieces can also sense her presence although she cannot see her.

At first, Elizabeth does not remember anything of her life, and refuses to believe that she is dead. Her memories come back gradually. Together, assisted by Zen-like psychic Darryl (Jon Heder), she and David find out who she is, what happened to her, and why they are connected.

Eventually, David discovers that the reason he is the only one who can see Elizabeth is that he was her blind date. They find that her body is in a coma in the hospital. In accordance with her living will, she will soon be taken off life support. Elizabeth's spirit and David, who have fallen in love, manage to prevent this just in time, and she miraculously recovers. However, she doesn't remember anything that happened during the coma or any of the events with David, which leaves him heartbroken.

One day, Elizabeth goes up to her roof and sees David, who got in with the spare key and is finishing up the garden there. Just as he is about to leave, she asks for her key back. When their hands touch, her memory is restored, and they kiss. Before the credits roll, Darryl is shown looking at them in a crystal ball. Darryl is proud and sighs "Righteous".

Critical reaction

The film, though popular, was somewhat overshadowed by Witherspoon's more high-profile and almost simultaneously released blockbuster Walk the Line, for which she won an Academy Award. Critics were mixed on the film, although the most prominent of them, such as Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper, and A.O. Scott, gave it favorable reviews. They all seemed to agree that the plot had logical flaws that were somewhat overcome by good dialogue and characterization. The performances of Witherspoon, Ruffalo, and Heder were all generally well-received. Heder's appearance helped to debunk an urban rumor that the actor had died shortly after filming Napoleon Dynamite. The DVD release in February 2006 was given unusually strong promotional publicity.

In 2006, the movie was awarded "worst foreign movie of the year" by the "Gérard du Cinema" Academy, an equivalent of the "Golden Raspberry Award" in France.

Theme song

The title of this film is also that of a popular 1987 song, "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure. Singer Katie Melua recorded a cover version of the song for the soundtrack of the film. Melua's version is played over the opening titles; the original version by the Cure is played over much of the closing credits.

External links

• Official website
• Just Like Heaven at IMDb
• Just Like Heaven at AllMovie
• Just Like Heaven at Rotten Tomatoes