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{{Short description|Film by Mark Waters}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = ''Just Like Heaven''
| name = Just like Heaven
| image = Just like Heaven poster.jpg
| image = Just like Heaven poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Mark Waters]]
| director = [[Mark Waters]]
⚫
| producer = [[Walter F. Parkes]]<br>[[Laurie MacDonald]]
| screenplay = {{ubl|[[Peter Tolan]]|[[Leslie Dixon]]}}
| screenplay = {{ubl|[[Peter Tolan]]|[[Leslie Dixon]]}}
| based_on = {{based on|''[[If Only It Were True]]''|[[Marc Levy]]}}
| based_on = {{based on|''[[If Only It Were True]]''|[[Marc Levy]]}}
| producer = {{ubl|[[Laurie MacDonald]]|[[Walter F. Parkes]]}}
| starring = {{ubl|[[Reese Witherspoon]]|[[Mark Ruffalo]]}}
| starring = {{ubl|[[Reese Witherspoon]]|[[Mark Ruffalo]]}}
⚫
| music = [[Rolfe Kent]]
| cinematography = [[Daryn Okada]]
| cinematography = [[Daryn Okada]]
| editing = [[Bruce Green]]
| editing = [[Bruce Green]]
⚫
| music = [[Rolfe Kent]]
⚫
| studio = [[Walter F. Parkes|Parkes]]/[[Laurie MacDonald|MacDonald Productions]]
| distributor = [[DreamWorks Pictures]]
| distributor = [[DreamWorks Pictures]]
| released = {{Film date|2005|09|16|}}
| released = {{Film date|2005|09|16}}
| runtime = 95 minutes
| runtime = 95 minutes
| country = United States
| country = United States
| language = English
| language = English
| budget = $58 million
| budget = $58 million
| gross = $102.9 million
| gross = $102.8 million<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=justlikeheaven.htm |title = ''Just Like Heaven'' (2005) | publisher = [[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date = 2010-12-20}}</ref>
}}
}}


'''''Just Like Heaven''''' is a 2005 American [[romantic comedy]] [[fantasy]]-[[adventure film]] directed by [[Mark Waters (director)|Mark Waters]], starring [[Reese Witherspoon]], [[Mark Ruffalo]], and [[Jon Heder]]. It is based on the 1999 French novel ''[[If Only It Were True]]'' (''Et si c'était vrai...'') by [[Marc Levy]].
'''''Just like Heaven''''' is a 2005 American [[Fantasy film|fantasy]] [[romantic comedy]] film directed by [[Mark Waters (director)|Mark Waters]] and starring [[Reese Witherspoon]] and [[Mark Ruffalo]]. It is based on the 1999 French novel ''[[If Only It Were True]]'' (''Et si c'était vrai...'') by [[Marc Levy]].


[[Steven Spielberg]] obtained the rights to produce the film from the book.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386887.If_Only_It_Were_True | title = If Only It Were True (Et si c'était vrai #1) | publisher = Goodreads Inc.}}</ref> The film was released in the United States and Canada on September 16, 2005.
[[Steven Spielberg]] obtained the rights to produce the film from the book.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386887.If_Only_It_Were_True | title = If Only It Were True (Et si c'était vrai #1) | publisher = Goodreads Inc. | access-date = 2011-07-10 | archive-date = 2012-04-29 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120429103254/http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386887.If_Only_It_Were_True | url-status = live }}</ref> The film was released in the United States on September 16, 2005. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it grossed $102.9 million on a budget of $58 million.


==Plot==
==Plot==
Elizabeth Masterson ([[Reese Witherspoon]]), a young emergency medicine physician in [[San Francisco]] whose work is her whole life, is in a serious car accident while on her way to a [[blind date]] at her sister's dinner party. Three months later, David Abbott ([[Mark Ruffalo]]), a landscape architect needing a fresh start from an event he doesn't want to talk about, moves into the apartment that had been Elizabeth's, after 'discovering' it in what seems to be a fateful [[Wiktionary:happenstance#English|happenstance]].
Elizabeth Masterson, an emergency room physician in San Francisco focused on her profession, is in a car crash while on her way to a blind date at her sister's. Three months later, landscape architect David Abbott, needing a fresh start after his wife's death, takes a sublet on Elizabeth's apartment.


Elizabeth begins to appear to David in the apartment, and both are confused. Elizabeth thinks he's a squatter, and David thinks she broke in somehow. However, it becomes clear that Elizabeth isn't really alive. She can suddenly appear and disappear, walk or move through walls and objects. Elizabeth doesn't seem to remember anything about herself, and refuses to think she's dead. David tries to have her spirit exorcised from the apartment, but to no avail. David enlists the help of a psychic bookstore clerk, Darryl ([[Jon Heder]]), who tells him that Elizabeth isn't really dead. He tells David that it's clear he's got a blocked heart, and he needs to let go of the woman who was previously in his life. Elizabeth says David needs to get over being dumped. David storms out, and then Darryl tells Elizabeth not to disrespect the dead. Elizabeth finds David and he reveals that his wife Laura had died.
Elizabeth begins to appear in the apartment, and both are confused. She thinks he is a squatter, and he thinks she broke in. They soon realize she moves through walls and objects. Elizabeth does not know who she is and insists she is not dead. David unsuccessfully tries to have her spirit exorcised. As only David can see and hear her, others think he is hallucinating and talking to himself. Elizabeth asks him to help her discover who she really is. David talks to her neighbors but they do not know her.


David enlists the help of a psychic bookstore clerk, Darryl, who says Elizabeth is not really dead. He also tells David he has clearly got a blocked heart and needs to let go of the woman who was previously in his life. When Elizabeth says he should get over being dumped, he storms out, and Darryl tells Elizabeth to not disrespect the dead. She finds David and he explains about the death of his wife.
Since only David can see and hear her, others think that he is hallucinating, getting back into his alcoholism, and talking to himself. Elizabeth asks David to help her looks for clues around Elizabeth's apartment to try to find out who she is and what happened to her. David talks to people in the building who didn't know much about Elizabeth. As they walked into a restaurant she said she liked, a man has a medical emergency, and Elizabeth talks David through saving his life. She remembers she was a doctor, and they go to the nearest hospital, where Elizabeth remembers her life as a doctor, and her mentor Fran tells David that Elizabeth has been in an accident. Elizabeth finds her body in a room, where she's been in a coma for three months. When David touches the body's hand, Elizabeth feels it, so she knows she's still connected to her body, and not all hope is lost.


Elizabeth's sister Abby arrives, and the attending doctor notifies her that Elizabeth signed papers to not take extraordinary measures to save her life, but since she was a doctor at that hospital, they've treated her as a special case. However, the doctor asks Abby to consider taking her off life support, and she says she'll think about it.
Checking a restaurant, she recognizes that a man has a medical emergency, so Elizabeth helps David save his life. Suddenly, she remembers being a doctor, and they go to the nearest hospital, where it all comes flooding back. Dr. Fran Lo, her mentor, takes him to Elizabeth, who is in a coma. When David touches her hand, Elizabeth feels it, meaning she is still connected to her body.


Elizabeth's sister Abby arrives, and Dr. Brett Rushton{{snd}} Elizabeth's rival{{snd}} notifies her that Elizabeth signed a DNR order. He asks her to sign off on disconnecting life support, and she says she will consider it.
⚫
David and Elizabeth begin to bond, and he tells her about his wife's death. He takes Elizabeth out of town to a beautiful landscaped garden he designed. Elizabeth tells him she senses she has been there before, and in fact, the garden was something she was dreaming of in the opening scenes of the film, where she was awakened by a colleague from cat-napping after working a 26-hour shift in the hospital.


⚫
David and Elizabeth bond. When he takes her to a beautiful landscaped garden he designed, she tells him she senses she has been there before. In fact, she was dreaming of the garden (in the opening scenes of the film), while catnapping during a long shift.
David's real estate broker calls him to say the owners have offered him a long lease on the apartment, likely meaning that Abby has signed the papers to let Elizabeth die. David tries to prevent this going to Abby's house with the intention of telling her that Elizabeth is communicating with him, and plans to reveal bits of information about Abby that only Elizabeth knows. While there, Elizabeth's niece Lily is shown to be able to sense her, as she puts a cookie on the plate before her. David tells Abby he was a patient of Elizabeth's and begs Abby to keep her alive, but Abby says it's too late, she's already signed the papers and Elizabeth will be taken off life support the next day. In a last ditch effort to save Elizabeth, David blurts out something Abby did on her wedding day, and Abby freaks out, threatening him with a knife and driving him out of her house.


When David is told he has been offered a long-term lease, he realizes Elizabeth will be taken off life support. He tries to prevent it by going to Abby's to tell her that she is communicating with him. While there, Elizabeth discovers that her niece Lily can see her. David begs Abby to keep her alive, but she has already signed the papers, with life support ending the next day. As a last-ditch effort, David blurts out Abby's secret from her wedding day, freaking her out so she drives him out of her house.
⚫
David offers Elizabeth the opportunity to do anything she wants for her last night alive, but she wants to spend it with him in their apartment. David wakes up the next morning and decides to prevent Elizabeth's death by stealing her body from the hospital. He asks his friend/therapist Jack ([[Donal Logue]]) to help him, and Jack is found to be Abby's former college boyfriend who had set up a blind date for David with Elizabeth on the night of the accident - the reason David can see Elizabeth is that they were meant to meet. He then admits to Jack and Elizabeth that he loves her and that is the reason he doesn't want her to die; he has gotten past the death of his wife.


⚫
Elizabeth opts to spend her last night with David in the apartment. The next morning, he is determined to prevent her death by stealing her body from the hospital. He enlists his friend and therapist Jack to help. It turns out Jack is Abby's former college boyfriend, and the two had set up David and Elizabeth for a blind date on the night of the crash; David can see her because they were meant to meet. He admits to Jack and Elizabeth that he loves her.
⚫
They are quickly discovered in the hospital while trying to steal Elizabeth's body. The security guards find them, and when they pull Jack away from Elizabeth, her breathing tube comes off. The guards encircle David and Elizabeth, but she is now dying. David frantically kisses the dying Elizabeth, breathing some air into her lungs, while her spirit begins to fade away. Then, amazingly, her heartbeat returns and she miraculously awakens from the coma. However, while Elizabeth recognizes Abby, she doesn't recognize David, and he sadly leaves the hospital.


⚫
Security guards catch them trying to steal Elizabeth's body. As they pull Jack away from her, her breathing tube comes off. Elizabeth is now dying, and David frantically kisses her body, while her spirit fades away. Her heartbeat returns and she awakens from the coma. She recognizes Abby, but not David, and he sadly leaves.
⚫
Sometime later, Elizabeth moves back into her apartment. She is drawn up to the roof of the building, where she finds David, who has transformed the roof into a beautiful landscaped garden. David reveals he'd gotten in using the spare key her spirit had shown him. Just as he is about to leave, she asks for her key back. When their hands touch, her memory of the events during her coma are restored, and she kisses him happily.


⚫
Sometime later, Elizabeth moves back into her apartment. Drawn to the roof, she finds David, who has transformed it into a landscaped garden. He reveals he had gotten in using the spare key her spirit had shown him. When Elizabeth asks for her key back, their hands touch, her memory of the events during her coma is restored, and they kiss happily.
⚫
The final scene fades away from the rooftop to show Darryl staring into a [[snow globe]].

⚫
The final scene fades away from the rooftop to show Darryl staring into a snow globe, happy with "seeing" how things have turned out.


==Cast==
==Cast==
<!--- [[WP:NOTDATABASE]] - cast and order per opening tombstone stand-alone credits, roles per closing credits scroll --->
{{cast listing|
{{cast listing|
* [[Reese Witherspoon]] as Dr. Elizabeth Masterson
* [[Reese Witherspoon]] as Elizabeth
* [[Mark Ruffalo]] as David Abbott
* [[Mark Ruffalo]] as David
* [[Ivana Miličević]] as Katrina
⚫
* [[Jon Heder]] as Darryl
* [[Donal Logue]] as Jack
* [[Donal Logue]] as Jack
*[[Dina Spybey|Dina Waters]] as Abby Brody
* [[Dina Spybey|Dina Waters]] as Abby<!--- not “credited as”, given equally long history as Waters --->
* [[Rosalind Chao]] as Dr. Fran Lo
* [[Ben Shenkman]] as Brett
* [[Ben Shenkman]] as Dr. Brett Rushton
* [[Ivana Miličević]] as Katrina
* [[Joel McKinnon Miller]] as Lead Ghostbuster
* [[Caroline Aaron]] as Grace
* [[Caroline Aaron]] as Grace
* [[Kerris Dorsey]] as Zoe Brody
* [[Rosalind Chao]] as Fran
* Alyssa Shafer as Lily Brody
* [[Ron Canada]] as Walsh
* [[Willie Garson]] as Maitre D'
* [[Willie Garson]] as Maitre D'
⚫
* [[Jon Heder]] as Darryl
}}
}}


==Reception==
⚫
==Critical reception==

The film holds a 55% approval rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 5.62/10. The consensus reads, "Delightfully sweet like a lollipop, ''Just Like Heaven'' is a dreamy romantic comedy that may give you a toothache when it attempts to broach difficult end of life issues by throwing a cherry on top."<ref name="RT">{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/just_like_heaven/|title=Just Like Heaven (2005)|publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=January 13, 2020}}</ref> However, the most prominent critics – such as [[Roger Ebert]], [[Richard Roeper]], and [[A. O. Scott]] – gave it favorable reviews;<ref name="RT"/> they all agreed that the plot had logical flaws that were somewhat overcome by good dialogue and characterization.
⚫
===Critical response===
{{RT prose|{{RT data|score}}|{{RT data|average}}|{{RT data|count}}|Delightfully sweet like a lollipop, ''Just Like Heaven'' is a dreamy romantic comedy that may give you a toothache when it attempts to broach difficult end of life issues by throwing a cherry on top.|ref=yes|access-date=2023-01-25}} {{MC film|47|31|ref=yes|access-date=2023-01-25}}


[[Roger Ebert]], [[Richard Roeper]], and [[A. O. Scott]] all gave it favorable reviews, agreeing that the plot had logical flaws that were somewhat overcome by good dialogue and characterization.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}<!-- each review needs a proper reference to the original review -->
The performances of Witherspoon, Ruffalo, and Heder were all generally well received.


===Box office===
The DVD release in February 2006 was given unusually strong promotional publicity.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}
''Just like Heaven'' grossed $48.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $54.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $102.9 million, against a budget of $58 million.<ref name=BOM>{{Cite Box Office Mojo |access-date=2023-01-25}}</ref>


==Theme song==
==Theme song==
The title of this film is also that of a popular 1987 song, "[[Just Like Heaven (The Cure 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, and has lines such as "she said" changed to "he said" to maintain a heterosexual narrative. The original version by The Cure, as well as the remainder of Melua's version, are played over the closing credits.
The title of this film is also that of a popular 1987 song, "[[Just like Heaven (The Cure 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 and has lines such as "she said" changed to "he said" to maintain a heterosexual narrative. The original version by The Cure, as well as the remainder of Melua's version, are played over the closing credits.


The orchestral score was written by [[Rolfe Kent]], and orchestrated by [[Tony Blondal]].
The orchestral score was written by [[Rolfe Kent]], and orchestrated by [[Tony Blondal]].
Line 80: Line 86:
|-
|-
|align="center"|01
|align="center"|01
| "[[Just Like Heaven (The Cure song)|Just Like Heaven]]"
| "[[Just like Heaven (The Cure song)|Just like Heaven]]"
| [[Robert Smith (musician)|Robert Smith]], [[Boris Williams]], [[Simon Gallup]], [[Pearl Thompson|Paul Thompson]], and [[Lol Tolhurst|Laurence Tolhurst]]
| [[Robert Smith (musician)|Robert Smith]], [[Boris Williams]], [[Simon Gallup]], [[Pearl Thompson|Paul Thompson]], and [[Lol Tolhurst|Laurence Tolhurst]]
| [[Katie Melua]]
| [[Katie Melua]]
Line 216: Line 222:
|-
|-
|align="center"|18
|align="center"|18
| "Just Like Heaven"
| "Just like Heaven"
|
|
| [[The Cure]]
| [[The Cure]]
Line 231: Line 237:
*[[Soulmate]]s
*[[Soulmate]]s
*[[Vismayathumbathu]] (2004)
*[[Vismayathumbathu]] (2004)
*[[Bring It On, Ghost]] (2016)


==References==
==References==
Line 238: Line 245:
{{Wikiquote|Just Like Heaven}}
{{Wikiquote|Just Like Heaven}}
* {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20050924194244/http://www.justlikeheaven-themovie.com:80/}}
* {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20050924194244/http://www.justlikeheaven-themovie.com:80/}}
* {{IMDb title|0425123|Just Like Heaven}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
* {{Amg movie|319730|Just Like Heaven}}
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|just_like_heaven|Just Like Heaven}}


{{Mark Waters}}
{{Mark Waters}}
{{Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Romance}}
{{Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Romance}}
{{Portal bar|Film|Comedy|Society|Visual arts}}
{{Portal bar|Film|Comedy|Society|Visual arts}}

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[[Category:2000s fantasy-comedy films]]
[[Category:2000s ghost films]]
[[Category:2005 films]]
[[Category:2005 fantasy films]]
[[Category:2005 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:2005 romantic comedy films]]
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[[Category:2000s American films]]
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[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
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[[Category:2000s fantasy comedy films]]
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[[Category:2000s ghost films]]
[[Category:2000s romantic fantasy films]]
[[Category:2000s romantic fantasy films]]
[[Category:2005 films]]
[[Category:American fantasy comedy films]]
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[[Category:American fantasy-comedy films]]
⚫
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American ghost films]]
[[Category:American ghost films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:American romantic fantasy films]]
[[Category:American romantic fantasy films]]
[[Category:DreamWorks Pictures films]]
[[Category:DreamWorks Pictures films]]
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[[Category:Films about death]]
[[Category:Films about death]]
[[Category:Films based on fantasy novels]]
[[Category:Films based on fantasy novels]]
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[[Category:Films based on romance novels]]
[[Category:Films based on romance novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Mark Waters]]
[[Category:Films directed by Mark Waters]]
[[Category:Films produced by Walter F. Parkes]]
[[Category:Films scored by Rolfe Kent]]
[[Category:Films set in hospitals]]
[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]]
⚫
[[Category:Hospital films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Leslie Dixon]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Leslie Dixon]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Peter Tolan]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Peter Tolan]]
[[Category:Films scored by Rolfe Kent]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Walter F. Parkes]]
[[Category:English-language romantic fantasy films]]
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[[Category:English-language fantasy comedy films]]
[[Category:Teen Choice Award winning films]]

Latest revision as of 00:30, 22 December 2024

Just like Heaven
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMark Waters
Screenplay by
Based onIf Only It Were True
by Marc Levy
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDaryn Okada
Edited byBruce Green
Music byRolfe Kent
Production
company
Distributed byDreamWorks Pictures
Release date
  • September 16, 2005 (2005-09-16)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$58 million
Box office$102.9 million

Just like Heaven is a 2005 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Mark Waters and starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. It is based on the 1999 French novel If Only It Were True (Et si c'était vrai...) by Marc Levy.

Steven Spielberg obtained the rights to produce the film from the book.[1] The film was released in the United States on September 16, 2005. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it grossed $102.9 million on a budget of $58 million.

Plot

[edit]

Elizabeth Masterson, an emergency room physician in San Francisco focused on her profession, is in a car crash while on her way to a blind date at her sister's. Three months later, landscape architect David Abbott, needing a fresh start after his wife's death, takes a sublet on Elizabeth's apartment.

Elizabeth begins to appear in the apartment, and both are confused. She thinks he is a squatter, and he thinks she broke in. They soon realize she moves through walls and objects. Elizabeth does not know who she is and insists she is not dead. David unsuccessfully tries to have her spirit exorcised. As only David can see and hear her, others think he is hallucinating and talking to himself. Elizabeth asks him to help her discover who she really is. David talks to her neighbors but they do not know her.

David enlists the help of a psychic bookstore clerk, Darryl, who says Elizabeth is not really dead. He also tells David he has clearly got a blocked heart and needs to let go of the woman who was previously in his life. When Elizabeth says he should get over being dumped, he storms out, and Darryl tells Elizabeth to not disrespect the dead. She finds David and he explains about the death of his wife.

Checking a restaurant, she recognizes that a man has a medical emergency, so Elizabeth helps David save his life. Suddenly, she remembers being a doctor, and they go to the nearest hospital, where it all comes flooding back. Dr. Fran Lo, her mentor, takes him to Elizabeth, who is in a coma. When David touches her hand, Elizabeth feels it, meaning she is still connected to her body.

Elizabeth's sister Abby arrives, and Dr. Brett Rushton – Elizabeth's rival – notifies her that Elizabeth signed a DNR order. He asks her to sign off on disconnecting life support, and she says she will consider it.

David and Elizabeth bond. When he takes her to a beautiful landscaped garden he designed, she tells him she senses she has been there before. In fact, she was dreaming of the garden (in the opening scenes of the film), while catnapping during a long shift.

When David is told he has been offered a long-term lease, he realizes Elizabeth will be taken off life support. He tries to prevent it by going to Abby's to tell her that she is communicating with him. While there, Elizabeth discovers that her niece Lily can see her. David begs Abby to keep her alive, but she has already signed the papers, with life support ending the next day. As a last-ditch effort, David blurts out Abby's secret from her wedding day, freaking her out so she drives him out of her house.

Elizabeth opts to spend her last night with David in the apartment. The next morning, he is determined to prevent her death by stealing her body from the hospital. He enlists his friend and therapist Jack to help. It turns out Jack is Abby's former college boyfriend, and the two had set up David and Elizabeth for a blind date on the night of the crash; David can see her because they were meant to meet. He admits to Jack and Elizabeth that he loves her.

Security guards catch them trying to steal Elizabeth's body. As they pull Jack away from her, her breathing tube comes off. Elizabeth is now dying, and David frantically kisses her body, while her spirit fades away. Her heartbeat returns and she awakens from the coma. She recognizes Abby, but not David, and he sadly leaves.

Sometime later, Elizabeth moves back into her apartment. Drawn to the roof, she finds David, who has transformed it into a landscaped garden. He reveals he had gotten in using the spare key her spirit had shown him. When Elizabeth asks for her key back, their hands touch, her memory of the events during her coma is restored, and they kiss happily.

The final scene fades away from the rooftop to show Darryl staring into a snow globe, happy with "seeing" how things have turned out.

Cast

[edit]

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 54% of 149 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Delightfully sweet like a lollipop, Just Like Heaven is a dreamy romantic comedy that may give you a toothache when it attempts to broach difficult end of life issues by throwing a cherry on top."[2] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 47 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[3]

Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper, and A. O. Scott all gave it favorable reviews, agreeing that the plot had logical flaws that were somewhat overcome by good dialogue and characterization.[citation needed]

Box office

[edit]

Just like Heaven grossed $48.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $54.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $102.9 million, against a budget of $58 million.[4]

Theme song

[edit]

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 and has lines such as "she said" changed to "he said" to maintain a heterosexual narrative. The original version by The Cure, as well as the remainder of Melua's version, are played over the closing credits.

The orchestral score was written by Rolfe Kent, and orchestrated by Tony Blondal.

Soundtrack

[edit]
Track No. Title Writer and music composer Performer Producer Courtesy (TM/C) License
01 "Just like Heaven" Robert Smith, Boris Williams, Simon Gallup, Paul Thompson, and Laurence Tolhurst Katie Melua Ralph Sall and Mike Batt Dramatico Records
02 "Lust for Life" David Bowie and Iggy Pop Kay Hanley Ralph Sall
03 "Strange Invitation" Beck Beck Geffen Records Universal Music Enterprises
04 "Good Times Roll" Ric Ocasek The Cars Elektra Entertainment Group Warner Music Group
(Film & TV)
05 "I Put a Spell on You" Jay Hawkins Screamin'
Jay Hawkins 		Epic Records Sony/BMG Music
Entertainment
06 "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" Barrett Strong and Norman J. Whitfield Pete Yorn Ralph Sall Columbia Records
(Pete Yorn appearance)
07 "Bad Faith"
"Fuji Dawn" 		Andrew Dorfman Megathor Music
08 "Tomorrow"
(from the Broadway musical
Annie) 		Martin Charnin and Charles Strouse Reese Witherspoon
09 "Ghostbusters" Ray Parker Jr. Bowling for Soup Ralph Sall and Jaret Reddick Jive Records
(Bowling For Soup appearance)
10 "Big Brown Eyes" Ron Hacker Ron Hacker
11 "Moonbeam Lullabye" Daniel May Daniel May Marc Ferrari/Matersource
12 "Jungle Fever" Bill Ador The Chakachas Universal Music S.A.
(Belgium) 		Universal Music Enterprises
13 "Brass in Pocket" Chrissie Hynde & James Honeyman-Scott Kelis Ralph Sall LaFace Records/
The Zomba Label
Group (Kelis appearance)
14 "Swim with Me" Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt, Anthony Field, Greg Page, and Paul Paddick The Wiggles The Wiggles Production PTY Limited
15 "Bad Case of Lovin' You" John Martin Emerson Hart Ralph Sall
16 "Spooky" Buddy Buie, James Cobb, Harry Middlebrooks, and Mike Shapiro Imogen Heap Ralph Sall and Imogen Heap Megaphone Records
(Imogen Heap appearance) 		Zync Music Inc.
17 "Colors" Amos Lee Amos Lee Blue Note Records EMI Film and Television Music
18 "Just like Heaven" The Cure Elektra Entertainment Group
Warner Music Group
Film & TV Licensing
& Fiction Records Limited/
Polydor Ltd. (U.K.) 		Universal Music Enterprises

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "If Only It Were True (Et si c'était vrai #1)". Goodreads Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-04-29. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
  2. ^ "Just like Heaven". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 2023-01-25. Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ "Just like Heaven". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  4. ^ "Just like Heaven". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 2023-01-25.Edit this at Wikidata
[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to Just Like Heaven.
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