Just like Heaven (2005 film): Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Film by Mark Waters}} |
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{{Infobox film |
{{Infobox film |
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| name = |
| name = Just like Heaven |
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| image = Just like Heaven poster.jpg |
| image = Just like Heaven poster.jpg |
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| caption = Theatrical release poster |
| caption = Theatrical release poster |
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| director = [[ |
| director = [[Mark Waters]] |
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| |
| screenplay = {{ubl|[[Peter Tolan]]|[[Leslie Dixon]]}} |
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| based_on = {{based on|''[[If Only It Were True]]''|[[Marc Levy]]}} |
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| producer = {{ubl|[[Laurie MacDonald]]|[[Walter F. Parkes]]}} |
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| starring = {{ubl|[[Reese Witherspoon]]|[[Mark Ruffalo]]}} |
| starring = {{ubl|[[Reese Witherspoon]]|[[Mark Ruffalo]]}} |
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| music = [[Rolfe Kent]] |
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| cinematography = [[Daryn Okada]] |
| cinematography = [[Daryn Okada]] |
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| editing = [[Bruce Green]] |
| editing = [[Bruce Green]] |
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| |
| music = [[Rolfe Kent]] |
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| studio = [[Walter F. Parkes|Parkes]]/[[Laurie MacDonald|MacDonald Productions]] |
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| released = {{Film date|2005|09|16|}} |
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| distributor = [[DreamWorks Pictures]] |
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| |
| released = {{Film date|2005|09|16}} |
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| runtime = 95 minutes |
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| |
| country = United States |
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| language = English |
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| 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]] |accessdate = 2010-12-20}}</ref> |
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| budget = $58 million |
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| gross = $102.9 million |
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}} |
}} |
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'''''Just |
'''''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]]. |
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[[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 = |
[[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. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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Elizabeth Masterson |
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. |
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Elizabeth |
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. |
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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. |
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David and Elizabeth begin to bond, as much as that is possible, and he takes her 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 23-hour shift in the hospital. |
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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. |
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Together, assisted by a psychic bookstore clerk, Darryl (Heder), Elizabeth and David find out who she is, what happened to her, and why they are connected. She is not dead, but in a [[coma]], her body being kept on [[life support]] at the hospital where she used to work. When David discovers that in accordance with her [[living will]], she will soon be allowed to die, he tries to prevent this by telling Elizabeth's sister, Abby, that he can see her and what the situation involves. One of Elizabeth's young nieces is revealed to be able to sense her presence as well. |
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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. |
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Abby thinks David is mentally disturbed and drives him out of her house. Desperate, David decides to prevent Elizabeth's death by stealing her from the hospital. He asks his friend/therapist Jack 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 does not want her to die; he has gotten past the death of his wife. While stealing Elizabeth, they are quickly discovered in the hospital. The security guards find them, pulling Jack away from Elizabeth, but when he is grabbed, her breathing tube is removed. David gets away from the guards a bit longer, but Elizabeth 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, the recovered Elizabeth does not remember anything that happened during the coma or any of the events with David, who leaves the hospital in sadness. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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The final scene fades away from the rooftop to show Darryl staring into a snow globe, happy with "seeing" how things have turned out. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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<!--- [[WP:NOTDATABASE]] - cast and order per opening tombstone stand-alone credits, roles per closing credits scroll ---> |
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* [[Reese Witherspoon]] as Dr. Elizabeth Masterson |
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{{cast listing| |
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* [[Mark Ruffalo]] as David Abbott |
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* [[ |
* [[Reese Witherspoon]] as Elizabeth |
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* [[ |
* [[Mark Ruffalo]] as David |
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* [[Donal Logue]] as Jack |
* [[Donal Logue]] as Jack |
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*[[Dina Spybey|Dina Waters]] as Abby |
* [[Dina Spybey|Dina Waters]] as Abby<!--- not “credited as”, given equally long history as Waters ---> |
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* [[ |
* [[Ben Shenkman]] as Brett |
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* [[ |
* [[Ivana Miličević]] as Katrina |
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* [[Joel McKinnon Miller]] as Lead Ghostbuster |
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* [[Caroline Aaron]] as Grace |
* [[Caroline Aaron]] as Grace |
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* [[ |
* [[Rosalind Chao]] as Fran |
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* |
* [[Ron Canada]] as Walsh |
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* [[Willie Garson]] as Maitre D' |
* [[Willie Garson]] as Maitre D' |
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* [[Jon Heder]] as Darryl |
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}} |
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==Reception== |
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==Critical |
===Critical response=== |
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{{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}} |
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[[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 --> |
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The performances of Witherspoon, Ruffalo, and Heder were all generally well received. Heder's appearance helped to debunk an urban legend that the actor had died shortly after filming ''[[Napoleon Dynamite]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/heder.asp|title=Napoleon Die-namite | publisher=[[Snopes.com]]|accessdate=October 19, 2012}}</ref> |
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===Box office=== |
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The DVD release in February 2006 was given unusually strong promotional publicity. |
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''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> |
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==Theme song== |
==Theme song== |
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The title of this film is also that of a popular 1987 song, "[[Just |
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. |
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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]]. |
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|- |
|- |
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|align="center"|01 |
|align="center"|01 |
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| "[[Just |
| "[[Just like Heaven (The Cure song)|Just like Heaven]]" |
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| [[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]] |
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| [[Katie Melua]] |
| [[Katie Melua]] |
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|- |
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|align="center"|18 |
|align="center"|18 |
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| "Just |
| "Just like Heaven" |
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| [[The Cure]] |
| [[The Cure]] |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*''[[Always (1989 film)]]'' |
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*''[[Endukante... Premanta!]]'' |
*''[[Endukante... Premanta!]]'' |
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*''[[Ghost (1990 film)]]'' |
*''[[Ghost (1990 film)]]'' |
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*''[[ |
*''[[Ghost Town (2008 film)|Ghost Town]]'' |
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* |
*[[Soulmate]]s |
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*[[Vismayathumbathu]] (2004) |
*[[Vismayathumbathu]] (2004) |
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*[[Bring It On, Ghost]] (2016) |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Wikiquote|Just Like Heaven}} |
{{Wikiquote|Just Like Heaven}} |
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* {{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/}} |
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* {{IMDb title |
* {{IMDb title}} |
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* {{Rotten Tomatoes}} |
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* {{Amg movie|319730|Just Like Heaven}} |
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* {{Rotten-tomatoes|just_like_heaven|Just Like Heaven}} |
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{{Mark Waters}} |
{{Mark Waters}} |
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{{Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Romance}} |
{{Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Romance}} |
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{{Portal bar|Film|Comedy|Society|Visual arts}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:2005 films]] |
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[[Category:2000s fantasy comedy films]] |
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[[Category:2000s ghost films]] |
[[Category:2000s ghost films]] |
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[[Category:2000s romantic fantasy films]] |
[[Category:2000s romantic fantasy films]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:American fantasy comedy films]] |
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⚫ | |||
[[Category:American ghost films]] |
[[Category:American ghost films]] |
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[[Category:American romantic comedy films]] |
[[Category:American romantic comedy films]] |
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[[Category:American romantic fantasy films]] |
[[Category:American romantic fantasy films]] |
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[[Category:DreamWorks Pictures films]] |
[[Category:DreamWorks Pictures films]] |
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[[Category:Films about death]] |
[[Category:Films about death]] |
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[[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]] |
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[[Category:Films directed by Mark Waters]] |
[[Category:Films directed by Mark Waters]] |
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[[Category:Films produced by Walter F. Parkes]] |
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[[Category:Films scored by Rolfe Kent]] |
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[[Category:Films set in hospitals]] |
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[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]] |
[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]] |
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[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]] |
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Leslie Dixon]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Peter Tolan]] |
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[[Category:English-language romantic comedy films]] |
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[[Category:English-language romantic fantasy films]] |
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[[Category:English-language fantasy comedy films]] |
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[[Category:Teen Choice Award winning films]] |
Latest revision as of 00:30, 22 December 2024
Just like Heaven | |
---|---|
Directed by | Mark Waters |
Screenplay by | |
Based on | If Only It Were True by Marc Levy |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Daryn Okada |
Edited by | Bruce Green |
Music by | Rolfe Kent |
Production company | |
Distributed by | DreamWorks Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
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]- Reese Witherspoon as Elizabeth
- Mark Ruffalo as David
- Donal Logue as Jack
- Dina Waters as Abby
- Ben Shenkman as Brett
- Ivana Miličević as Katrina
- Caroline Aaron as Grace
- Rosalind Chao as Fran
- Ron Canada as Walsh
- Willie Garson as Maitre D'
- Jon Heder as Darryl
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]See also
[edit]- Always (1989 film)
- Endukante... Premanta!
- Ghost (1990 film)
- Ghost Town
- Soulmates
- Vismayathumbathu (2004)
- Bring It On, Ghost (2016)
References
[edit]- ^ "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.
- ^ "Just like Heaven". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ^ "Just like Heaven". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ^ "Just like Heaven". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
External links
[edit]- 2005 films
- 2005 fantasy films
- 2005 romantic comedy films
- 2000s American films
- 2000s English-language films
- 2000s fantasy comedy films
- 2000s ghost films
- 2000s romantic fantasy films
- American fantasy comedy films
- American ghost films
- American romantic comedy films
- American romantic fantasy films
- DreamWorks Pictures films
- Films about death
- Films based on fantasy novels
- Films based on French novels
- Films based on romance novels
- Films directed by Mark Waters
- Films produced by Walter F. Parkes
- Films scored by Rolfe Kent
- Films set in hospitals
- Films set in San Francisco
- Films shot in San Francisco
- Films with screenplays by Leslie Dixon
- Films with screenplays by Peter Tolan
- English-language romantic comedy films
- English-language romantic fantasy films
- English-language fantasy comedy films
- Teen Choice Award winning films