Monday, June 22, 2009

PIck of the Week 6/22/09

HEAVEN CAN WAIT

Heaven Can Wait was one of the first truly memorable movies from my childhood, and seeing as I was only allowed to watch black and white movies till I was 11 this was a pretty big deal.
Playing Joe Pendleton, the Rams star quarterback in a millionaires body, was easily one of Warren Beatty’s best screen parts, excluding Bulworth, matched only by Julie Christie’s performance as environmentalist Betty Logan. The story starts with Beatty’s character training for the Superbowl, when he is ripped from life and transferred to heaven, where it turns out he is not supposed to be in the first place. The problem becomes how to get Beatty back into a body that can compete in the Superbowl. Instead, he ends up in an aging corporate millionaires body, who has been murdered by his wife and chief assistant. The story gets more complicated from there, complete with love, football and an interesting ending.
Some of you may be reading this and thinking that this sounds a lot like the Chris Rock version Down To Earth. Watch the original first as it is order of magnitudes better than the remake.
Definitively a movie for the whole family and any occasion.

Starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, James Mason, Jack Warden and Dyan Cannon
Released in 1978

You can watch Heaven Can Wait at http://www.ireel.com/search_result/index?q=heaven+can+wait&f=s , a Video On Demand web based streaming service. There is no cost to join, and subscriptions, premium accounts and download to own options are available. http://www.ireel.com/ has a selection of major, minor and independent film titles in standard definition and high definition ready to stream to your computer right now. No plug in or downloaded software required. Check them out!