One of my top 100 of all time, 1978's HEAVEN CAN WAIT holds up perfectly today and still delivers tons of laughs and one of film's all time best endings.
Warren Beatty stars as Los Angeles Rams Quarterback, Joe Pendelton who is grabbed a bit too early by an over anxious guardian angel at the scene of an accident.
Buck Henry is hilarious as the nervous escort and James Mason is perfect as Mr. Jordan, the man in charge of Heaven.
When Mr Jordan realizes the error, he volunteers to put Joe back into another body temporarily while they find a suitable replacement for the QB.
Joe soon finds himself in the body of wealthy eccentric Leo Farnsworth, who is surrounded by a cheating wife and a personal secretary who are trying to kill him.
Dyan Cannon and Charles Grodin have their best film roles as Mrs. Farnsworth and Tony, bringing non-stop laughs to every scene they're in.
Jack Warden is excellent as Joe's trainer and best friend Max, who meets Joe again in the body of Leo Farnsworth when Joe (in the body of the rich eccentric) buys the Rams in order to get a tryout as the quarterback.
The screenplay by Elaine May, Robert Towne and Beatty is smart, funny and non-stop enjoyable.
The supporting cast is perfect, with standouts Arthur Malet as butler Everett ("Well Mr. Farnsworth is pretending to talk to people in the closet, so I thought he might want to have cocoa with them..") Vincent Gardenia as a police detective and Joseph Maher as Sisk, the confused and enlightened butler.
Best of all is Julie Christie as activist Betty Logan, who pursues Farnsworth to right a wrong and soon finds that there is a lot more to Farnsworth (Joe) than she ever expected.
The last ten minutes serve up one of the best endings to a film ever, sweet, heartfelt, satisfying and perfectly executed.
The board room scene alone is worth the price of admission, as are the training scenes and Cannon's flashback to "seeing a mouse".
This is brilliant writing and perfect execution that serves up a bit of heaven on every viewing.
One of my all time faves and a solid A+.
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