Film Review: Just Like Heaven
Just Like Heaven is a perfect piece of rom-com fluff.
It doesn’t hold a candle to the rom-com greats such as When Harry Met Sally, or Notting Hill, nor Four Weddings and a Funeral; yet in its own special way, it has perfected the rom-com formula and followed it to a T.
It kinda feels like reading a Mills & Boon romance novel because you are actively aware that the director is following a set-up guideline of formulas; with just enough amount of each ingredient. Not too little, not too much…just perfect.
So you get one-cup mysticism (the Ghost like angle to the story), one-cup romance (Mark Ruffalo & Reese Witherspoon are great in bringing their roles to life), one-cup comedy (mainly thanks to supporting cast Jon Heder’s GREAT performance), all tied up in a pretty package with a big pink bow.
I heard from somebody (dunno if its true) that Mark Ruffalo used method acting to get into the role of David Abbot, the hero of the story who at the start is all crabby and depressed from a yet unexplained tragedy in the past. He comes to ‘Frisco for a new lease of life and ends up renting the apartment of the recently deceased Dr. Elizabeth Masterson (Reese Witherspoon).
Elizabeth however has no recollection of dying and when her immaterial form starts haunting David by popping up every few instances or so…wacky hijinks ensues followed by both characters gradually taking stock of the situation and eventually joining arms to help solve the mystery (in which the hero eventually falls in *love* with his ghostly roomie).
A little on the nonsense side as flimsy rom-com plot goes, but this Mark Waters directed movie is saved by the strong casting.
I used to joke about: How hard is it to method act as a lead in a rom-com anyway?
But in retrospect, I have to applaud Mark Ruffalo’s method acting. It felt like he channeled all the good vibes of Hugh Grant (minus the stuttering poncy British act Hugh’s got going for him) and John Cusack as past great rom-com leads and defined a new dimension for future rom-com leads to come (yes..I am definitely taking the piss here fellers…I mean how fcuking hard is it to be a male lead in a rom-com neways??). ;-p
His David Abbot has a certain vulnerability within him hidden deep under the brooding, depressed, social hermit. You know if this was real life, Mark Ruffalo’s character would be a social outcast who’d die in front of his TV from depression and O.D. on alcohol. But since this is a rom-com, we look at the world thru pink-tinted glasses and even the most socially inept hermit gets his girl in the end. Awwwww!
Reese Witherspoon is Reese Witherspoon like she is in every movie she’s ever made. I swear, besides her breakout movie Cruel Intentions and some other indie stuff she’s done like Alexander Payne’s Election; all her characters have been the same: The fast-talking petite blonde with the curvaceous figure that has a mind of her own despite her blonde-like appearance.
At the end of the day tho’, I have to admit both lead roles have great chemistry from the banter when they initially meet until the toothache-sweet ending. Their superb acting saves this film from ending up as the total mess it could have been.
Jon Heder, who broke out onto the scene through the sublimely cool MTV indie movie: Napolean Dynamite also saves this movie from being too cookie cutter cute or too mystically hogwash by playing the comedy relief. He plays Darryl, the quirky psychic bookstore clerk where Ruffalo’s character goes for help in figuring out why Witherspoon’s ghost is haunting him. His surfer dude-constantly high outlook creates laughs whenever he’s onscreen.
Donal Logue from the TV series Grounded For Life also plays the comedic role as Ruffalo’s psychotherapist (shrink) but his role isn’t as strong in terms of comedy viewpoint compared to Jon Heder’s. A few nice laughs here and there and Logue’s character only serves the role of tying up the story nicely.
In summary, Just Like Heaven is a perfectly formulated rom-com fluff that pales in comparison to the other rom-com greats of the past, yet achieves to be heads and shoulders above any of its recent competitors.
A nice first date movie to bring that significant other you’ve been secretly crushing on for months.
It doesn’t hold a candle to the rom-com greats such as When Harry Met Sally, or Notting Hill, nor Four Weddings and a Funeral; yet in its own special way, it has perfected the rom-com formula and followed it to a T.
It kinda feels like reading a Mills & Boon romance novel because you are actively aware that the director is following a set-up guideline of formulas; with just enough amount of each ingredient. Not too little, not too much…just perfect.
So you get one-cup mysticism (the Ghost like angle to the story), one-cup romance (Mark Ruffalo & Reese Witherspoon are great in bringing their roles to life), one-cup comedy (mainly thanks to supporting cast Jon Heder’s GREAT performance), all tied up in a pretty package with a big pink bow.
I heard from somebody (dunno if its true) that Mark Ruffalo used method acting to get into the role of David Abbot, the hero of the story who at the start is all crabby and depressed from a yet unexplained tragedy in the past. He comes to ‘Frisco for a new lease of life and ends up renting the apartment of the recently deceased Dr. Elizabeth Masterson (Reese Witherspoon).
Elizabeth however has no recollection of dying and when her immaterial form starts haunting David by popping up every few instances or so…wacky hijinks ensues followed by both characters gradually taking stock of the situation and eventually joining arms to help solve the mystery (in which the hero eventually falls in *love* with his ghostly roomie).
A little on the nonsense side as flimsy rom-com plot goes, but this Mark Waters directed movie is saved by the strong casting.
I used to joke about: How hard is it to method act as a lead in a rom-com anyway?
But in retrospect, I have to applaud Mark Ruffalo’s method acting. It felt like he channeled all the good vibes of Hugh Grant (minus the stuttering poncy British act Hugh’s got going for him) and John Cusack as past great rom-com leads and defined a new dimension for future rom-com leads to come (yes..I am definitely taking the piss here fellers…I mean how fcuking hard is it to be a male lead in a rom-com neways??). ;-p
His David Abbot has a certain vulnerability within him hidden deep under the brooding, depressed, social hermit. You know if this was real life, Mark Ruffalo’s character would be a social outcast who’d die in front of his TV from depression and O.D. on alcohol. But since this is a rom-com, we look at the world thru pink-tinted glasses and even the most socially inept hermit gets his girl in the end. Awwwww!
Reese Witherspoon is Reese Witherspoon like she is in every movie she’s ever made. I swear, besides her breakout movie Cruel Intentions and some other indie stuff she’s done like Alexander Payne’s Election; all her characters have been the same: The fast-talking petite blonde with the curvaceous figure that has a mind of her own despite her blonde-like appearance.
At the end of the day tho’, I have to admit both lead roles have great chemistry from the banter when they initially meet until the toothache-sweet ending. Their superb acting saves this film from ending up as the total mess it could have been.
Jon Heder, who broke out onto the scene through the sublimely cool MTV indie movie: Napolean Dynamite also saves this movie from being too cookie cutter cute or too mystically hogwash by playing the comedy relief. He plays Darryl, the quirky psychic bookstore clerk where Ruffalo’s character goes for help in figuring out why Witherspoon’s ghost is haunting him. His surfer dude-constantly high outlook creates laughs whenever he’s onscreen.
Donal Logue from the TV series Grounded For Life also plays the comedic role as Ruffalo’s psychotherapist (shrink) but his role isn’t as strong in terms of comedy viewpoint compared to Jon Heder’s. A few nice laughs here and there and Logue’s character only serves the role of tying up the story nicely.
In summary, Just Like Heaven is a perfectly formulated rom-com fluff that pales in comparison to the other rom-com greats of the past, yet achieves to be heads and shoulders above any of its recent competitors.
A nice first date movie to bring that significant other you’ve been secretly crushing on for months.
posted by NiK! at
9:48 AM
