Just
Like Heaven is kind of a tough call. As a date movie/rom-com it works well enough,
but I found myself struggling with the been there done that nature of the plot.
Not to mention the been there done that character that Witherspoon keeps trotting
out. The perky, workaholic, anal-retentive control-freak. Although her pairing
with Mark Ruffalo (the sultan of somber and sultry indie downers) was a wise move.
In spite of the uphill climb presented by some of the dialogue, the odd couple
do manage a fair amount of lively and believable chemistry.
The
film starts with a car accident that claims the life of Witherspoon’s character
- an energetic E.R. doctor named Elizabeth Mortenson. While the doctor is off
in Limbo for a spell, her bereaved family lets her apartment to Ruffalo - a bereaved
sad-sack in his own right as the result of his wife’s recent death. The comic
hyjinx kick in when Witherspoon (who has no idea that she’s dead ala. Bruce
Willis character in the Sixth Sense) shows up at her apartment just like any other
day, to find that someone is eating her porridge.
If
you’re rolling your eyes at a premise that goes all the way back to the Ghost
and Mrs. Muir, to Topper, to Chris Rock’s regrettable remake of Heaven Can
Wait - there is a few fresh notions at play. For example, Ruffalo is the only
person who can see his ghost and she is incapable of touching physical objects
- her hand goes right through the telephone etc. Director Mark Waters (Mean Girls,
Freaky Friday) loses a few continuity points, in my book as Reese has no problem
sitting in Ruffalo’s car or on a park bench. True I’m knit-picking -
but as many times as this schtick has been done, I think it pays to stay true
to the supernatural rules you set for yourself.
As
if finding out your dead isn’t bad enough, Reese is also plagued by amnesia
- she has no idea who she was when she was among the quick. Thus the second act
of the film is about Ruffalo helping her find out who she was when she was living,
while searching for a reason to go on living himself. Their voyage of discovery
is aided at one point by a loopy spiritualist played by Jon Heder - proving that
there is life beyond Napoleon Dynamite. His turn is fun just because it’s
him - but it isn’t terribly well written, but I came away with the opinion
that Nappy D has got a future as an actor.
It
is truly Ruffalo who keeps this thing singing. Though he’s forced to recite
dialogue like “You’re like an AM radio that someone crammed in my head
and I can’t turn off.” his physical schtick is right on the money. His
continuous reactions to her presence and his ability to convey emotions without
words is the glue that keeps the film from falling apart. The reason for Reese
being stuck in Limbo and the fact that she doesn’t “feel” dead
- why, it turns out she's in a coma. The final act of course being a race against
time in order to keep our "tween queen" from getting the plug pulled
on her.
I will
admit that writers did buckle down and brought the film to a pretty fun and satisfying
ending (yes it’s a happy one). Though they did indulge in the seemingly requisite
scene where our troubled would-be couple must suffer through a lonely night without
each other. Accompanied, of course, by the perfect doleful pop song. Waters keeps
the pop songs coming fast and furious in Just Like Heaven - at times seeming more
adept with his ipod than the camera lens and yes there is a version the Cure’s
title song.
I’ve
yet to mention Donal Logue who is Ruffalo’s “start living your life
again - coach.” He is to this film what John Candy was to Splash. Logue is
one of those actors who usually does a decent job, but every so often you’d
just like to take him down with a whiffle bat. Not the case here, in fact he comes
off with the films funniest line during the frantic race to save Lizzie.
The
writers even offer a bit of a ersatz metaphysical reason why Ruffalo could see
Reese while no one else could. It was a little too scripty for me, but it left
things tied in a perfect bow for the actors to bow out on. Overall quite an enjoyable
diversion. It sure will be nice to see Reese's take on June Carter, in Walk The
Line. I've got a good feeling about that one. I saw a trailer for it, and I just
got shivers - it was like she finally found the role that will take her up to
the next level. Who knows?
