Heaven Can Wait (1978)
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A young man is mistakenly taken to heaven by his guardian angel and must find a new body to return to Earth.
The story
Joe Pendleton, a backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, is looking forward to leading his team to the Super Bowl. While riding his bicycle through a tunnel, an overzealous guardian angel known as The Escort mistakenly plucks Joe out of his body, believing he was about to be killed by an oncoming truck. Once in the afterlife, Joe discovers his body has already been cremated. To return to Earth, he is persuaded to accept the body of a multimillionaire industrialist, Leo Farnsworth, who was recently murdered by his wife and her lover. Joe must now navigate his new life while pursuing his football destiny.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Joe Pendleton, a backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, is mistakenly taken to heaven by an overzealous guardian angel, The Escort, who believes Joe is about to be hit by a truck. After discovering Joe's body has been cremated, the afterlife supervisor, Mr. Jordan, helps Joe find a new body. Joe accepts the body of Leo Farnsworth, a multimillionaire industrialist murdered by his wife Julia and her lover Tony. Reappearing as Leo, Joe buys the Rams and begins training with Max Corkle to play in the Super Bowl. He also falls in love with Betty Logan, an environmental activist. As the Super Bowl approaches, Mr. Jordan warns Joe he must eventually give up the body. Tony eventually shoots Leo/Joe, and the Rams are forced to start another quarterback, Tom Jarrett. After Tom is killed in a brutal hit, Joe occupies Tom's body and leads the Rams to victory. However, Mr. Jordan informs him that living as Tom requires losing his memories of Joe and Leo. Joe becomes disoriented and eventually 'leaves' Tom's body. The film ends with Tom and Betty meeting; they recognize each other's presence but don't know how, with Betty whispering, 'You're the quarterback.'
- First release year
- 1978
- Runtime (minutes)
- 101
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Warren Beatty; Buck Henry
- Writers
- Elaine May · screenplay; Warren Beatty · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Warren Beatty · Joe Pendleton; Julie Christie · Betty Logan; James Mason · Mr. Jordan; Jack Warden · Max Corkle; Charles Grodin · Tony Abbott; Dyan Cannon · Julia Farnsworth; Buck Henry · The Escort; Vincent Gardenia · Krim
- Genres
- sports; fantasy; comedy; drama
- Themes
- resurrection; reincarnation; destiny; afterlife
- Tone and mood
- upbeat; screwball; earnest; cheerful
- Premise and plot tags
- body swapping; fantasy; sports; comedy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Harry Segall's 1938 play of the same name
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics and was a financial success, earning $98.8 million against a $6 million budget.
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Art Direction · win; Academy Award · Best Picture · nomination; Academy Award · Best Director · nomination; Academy Award · Best Adapted Screenplay · nomination; Academy Award · Best Actor · nomination; Academy Award · Best Supporting Actor · nomination
- Production trivia
- Warren Beatty initially wanted Muhammad Ali to play the central character but changed it to an American football player.; The film was the second of three adaptations of Harry Segall's 1938 play.; The Super Bowl game was filmed during halftime of a preseason game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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