Heaven Can Wait

Play trailer

Heaven Can Wait

PG

Released Jun 28, 1978

1h 41m

Comedy

Fantasy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty), quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, is killed in an auto accident. In the afterlife, Joe discovers that his guardian angel (Buck Henry) has taken him from his body prematurely, and he is due many more years on earth. Unable to return to his body, Joe assumes the form of greedy multimillionaire industrialist Leo Farnsworth. As Farnsworth, Joe attempts a return to football and falls in love with environmental activist Betty Logan (Julie Christie).

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

A throwback to the high-gloss screwball comedies of the 1940s, Heaven Can Wait beguiles with seamless production values and great comic relief from Charles Grodin and Dianne Cannon.

Read Critics Reviews

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

The film has no desire but to please, and that’s its only compulsiveness; it’s so timed and pleated and smoothed that it’s sliding right off the screen.

Sep 18, 2023

Full Review

Nicholas Wapshott

The Times (UK)

Beatty can carry off this sort of whimsy by playing it straight and keeping the ludicrous premise credible. But the film is dogged by the nagging vision of what might have been.

Jul 13, 2020

Full Review

Judith Martin

Washington Post

This is a very sweet movie to watch, the pleasant cinematic equivalent of light summer reading.

Aug 30, 2016

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Heaven Can Wait holds up as one of the best films of 1978 and remains a timeless classic.

Rated: 5/5

Feb 2, 2024

Full Review

Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

Warren Beatty starred in, co-directed and co-wrote this fluffy, light-as-air romantic comedy about a football player who comes back from the dead as a sort of a proto-Forrest Gump.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 27, 2022

Full Review

Allison Rose

FlickDirect

Beatty's determined yet charming Joe is formidable, naïve, and optimistic all at the same time

Rated: 4/5

Dec 29, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

Stephen C

Funny in 1 hour and 41 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/08/25

Full Review

Carlos I

Warren Beatty is simply captivating in Heaven Can Wait. His charm, paired with the movie's entertaining (if outlandish) high-concept plot, ensures a genuinely good time. It's a well-executed and memorable remake.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/02/25

Full Review

Petro B

Didnt quite age well for me. Plot of the lovestory is obvious and filmic sequences are rusty.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/05/25

Full Review

Lanfranco C

A remake better than the original

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/25/24

Full Review

Mike M

This is subtly hilarious between Charles Grodin, and the butlers while Beatty, Cannon, Henry and Christie glide effortlessly through the movie. Jack Warden is good also as trainer Max and the staged Super Bowl scene is well done. A remake that is actually better than the original Here Comes Mr Jordan, with James Mason playing the angel...

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/06/24

Full Review

Walt S

Big bad capitalist against the little people, not much substance but ok for a lighthearted film if that’s what you are in the mood for.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/09/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Warren Beatty

Director

Buck Henry

Director

Warren Beatty

Joe Pendleton

Julie Christie

Betty Logan

Jack Warden

Max Corkle

James Mason

Mr. Jordan

Heaven Can Wait: Official Clip - Deja Vu

1:52

Heaven Can Wait: Official Clip - How Heaven Works

1:53

Heaven Can Wait: Official Clip - He's Not There

0:46

Heaven Can Wait: Official Clip - Heaven Can Wait

1:01

Heaven Can Wait: Official Clip - An Airplane Dream

1:53

Heaven Can Wait: Official Clip - Anxious Conspirators

1:07

Heaven Can Wait: Official Clip - I Don't Frighten Anybody

0:38

Heaven Can Wait: Official Clip - Picking a New Body

0:47

View more videos

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

27%

51%

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

Watchlist

Citizens Band

100%

70%

Citizens Band

Watchlist

Teen Wolf

46%

52%

Teen Wolf

Watchlist

Teen Wolf Too

8%

17%

Teen Wolf Too

Watchlist

Delirious

29%

39%

Delirious

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty), quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, is killed in an auto accident. In the afterlife, Joe discovers that his guardian angel (Buck Henry) has taken him from his body prematurely, and he is due many more years on earth. Unable to return to his body, Joe assumes the form of greedy multimillionaire industrialist Leo Farnsworth. As Farnsworth, Joe attempts a return to football and falls in love with environmental activist Betty Logan (Julie Christie).

Director: Warren Beatty, Buck Henry
Producer: Warren Beatty
Screenwriter: Elaine May, Warren Beatty
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 28, 1978, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2017
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now