HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Just Like Heaven Ghost Part Two?
Year: 2005
Director: Mark Waters
Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, Donal Logue, Dina Waters, Ben Shenkman, Jon Heder, Ivana Milicevic, Caroline Aaron, Rosalind Chao, Ron Canada, Willie Garson, Gabriel Made, William Caploe, Shulie Cowen, Billy Beck
Genre: Comedy, Romance, FantasyBuy from Amazon
Rating:  6 (from 2 votes)
Review: Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon) is a junior doctor hoping to be promoted at work, but the rivalry for the position is tough, which results in her working round the clock in an attempt to prove herself worthy. But it's not all about the job for her, as she genuinely cares about the people she is helping which is why her superior offers her the promotion that night. Mind you, she has put in an over day-long shift, one of many, so it's not as if she hasn't earned it, and she's earned a chance to have a rest as well. Her sister Abby (Dina Waters) has invited her over to meet a man - but things don't work out...

That's because of a mishap that occurs while Elizabeth is driving to her sister's home which sets in motion one of those high concept plots so beloved of romantic comedy filmmakers. Just Like Heaven was loosely based on a French novel that had amassed a cult following before the movie was released, but the movie went on to build a minor but signficant fanbase among those who welcomed its sweetness in spite of its contrived and predictable plotting. Actually, it could be that knowledge that everything is going to work out that provided much of the appeal; although there has been a tragedy, it's nothing that can't be sorted.

Eventually, anyway, which sees the cue for an out of his element Mark Ruffalo to make his entrance, here as a slobbish singleton who is apartment hunting, and finds exactly what he's looking for, in more ways than one. Except he doesn't know that because it's the romcom law that our future couple will not get along on their initial meeting, but here you can understand that ill-feeling when each think that the other is in their home. Ruffalo's David has just settled down when he is interrupted by Elizabeth demanding to know what he's doing there, a question he could equally ask her, so there's a misunderstanding here for a start.

From then on, Elizabeth begins to appear at inopportune moments in David's day, and the fact that they're like chalk and cheese doesn't endear one to the other, but hey, what do you know? Once they have established that only David can see her, they work out that she is in fact a ghost. Soon Elizabeth's faulty memory of her past life returns in dribs and drabs, and she recalls being in a car crash that night she was supposed to be headed over to her sister's, but there must be something keeping her hanging around even if she's believed to be dead. Of course, we're not getting the whole story, and the rest of this is about the thrown-together couple setting aside their differences.

And sorting out the mystery of Elizabeth's life - you could make a good novelty detective series out of this pair, something that didn't occur to anyone here as they were too intent on having the characters fall in love. In spite of the sadness of a story that may feature the premature death of a promising young woman, the filmmakers resisted having anything too horrible happen, and while they aimed for the tearducts in a handful of scenes, the point of this was to leave you feeling uplifted. Therefore the theme of unfulfilled lives finally taking a turn for the better is chiefly what concerns us, as David and his new "imaginary" girlfriend find that they are good for each other against the odds in a more conventional fashion than might appear at face value. Witherspoon and Ruffalo were very decent together, lifting what could have been sappy into the realms of the heartwarming. No, you probably won't take it hugely seriously, but it was nice enough. Although it would have been nicer without those poor cover versions on the soundtrack. Other music by Rolfe Kent.
Reviewer: Graeme Clark

 

This review has been viewed 5328 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (1)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Mary Sibley
Enoch Sneed
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: