Heaven Can Wait

1978 • 1h 41m •

Fantasy Comedy Romance Drama

MOVIEVIBE Rating

★ 6.7/10

458 reviews

Your Rating

Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.

"Joe Pendleton... the only guy who ever raised Hell about going to Heaven."

Top Billed Cast

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

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

C CinemaSerf Verified TMDB Critic

2024-11-23

Maybe Warren Beatty was also a fan of Powell & Pressburger as this has shades of "Matter of Life and Death" (1946) to it. Rather than a fighter pilot though, it's quarter-back "Joe" (Beatty) who is erroneously selected to take the Concorde to heaven. He protests to supremo "Jordan" (James Mason) who discovers that his new charge is still supposed to have another fifty-odd years with his mortal coil. OK, let's just put him back. Ah, well no - he has already been cremated. That's just one jigsaw puzzle too much, even for the celestial. "Jordan" decides that he can borrow the body of someone next...