Heaven Can Wait

PG

Released Jun 28, 1978

1 hr. 41 min.

Comedy

Fantasy

List

86%

49 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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).

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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.

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IAN c B

loved the part played by Warren Beatty. Wish real life was like this film and we can have a second chance.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/12/24

Full Review

Alec B

Delightfully reminiscent of certain comedies from the 30s and 40s. Grodin and Cannon give truly hysterical performances.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/09/24

Full Review

Terry M

Warren Beatty at his most humorous. James Mason adds a 40s throwback to funny but enchanting movies.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/18/23

Full Review

Larry K

Cool story, pretty funny, and good ending!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A remake of the 1943 classic starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie Joe Pendleton arrives in heaven much to his shock But the people upstairs decide to give him another chance inhabiting the body of another man A greedy multimillionaire Farnsworth he now lives as wanting to return to his love of football while also falling for an environmental activist named Betty She's in danger of being evicted by Farnsworth's gold digger wife, Julia and Tony, his personal secretary Both of these two also almost succeed at poisoning Farnsworth But Joe can change all that Can this man find happy ness and meaning in his new life despite being someone else and how much time does he have? I thought this was alright, could've used more laughs and intense drama There are superficialities and plot confusions A downer of an ending but still an uplifting tale of one man sent back from above able to change more than one life Sometimes we can't ignore our destiny that's written, one life has to be left behind for another to start, there's always a new beginning that lies ahead Beatty and Christie are the best parts in this remake

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/29/23

Full Review

Farah R

Warren Beatty directs, produces, and stars in this classic comedy that's just as enumerating today as it was back in the 70s. Heaven Can Wait's simple premise is turned into an amusing and heartwarming story supported by solid performances that carry it through the brief moments it drags on.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/23/23

Full Review

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Warren Beatty

Director

Buck Henry

Director

Warren Beatty

Joe Pendleton

Julie Christie

Betty Logan

Jack Warden

Max Corkle

James Mason

Mr. Jordan

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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

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Pauline Kael

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

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

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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
Executive Producer: Hawk Koch, Charles H. Maguire
Screenwriter: Harry Segall, Elaine May, Warren Beatty, Robert Towne
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
Sound Mix: Stereo

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