We first saw ‘Just Like Heaven’ in 2008, but although we recalled liking it, we had entirely forgotten the storyline. So it was more than time to see it again. I hadn’t even looked at the blurb before sitting down to see it yesterday evening, and even while watching I had not recalled any of the story, nor how it ended.
The film revolves around a young American doctor, Elizabeth Masterton, superbly played by Reese Witherspoon. We meet her on duty after nearly 24 hours at work, dropping off to sleep for six minutes before rushing to see another patient. She’s clearly dedicated to her job, and cares deeply about the people she sees. But she’s also something of a workaholic, surviving by drinking a lot of coffee.
After a few more hours she finally goes off duty, and is on her way to dinner with her sister Abby when a disaster happens. We don’t see the outcome but it’s clearly something terrible. The action then moves to a young, picky and irritable man called David (Mark Ruffalo). He’s looking for somewhere to live, and driving the estate agent wild with his refusal to accept any of the places she offers. Then he happens to spot an advert for a one-month lease on the apartment where Elizabeth lived. Not that he knows anything about her, but he likes the view, and the couch, and decides to take it.
David is quite a loner, staying in the flat most of the time, drinking beer from cans, leaving things lying around, and watching TV. So he’s rather startled when a young woman appears, claiming it’s her apartment, and her stuff, and telling him what a slob he is…however she can’t quite recall who she is, or what she does.
It’s an unusual storyline, with one of the main protagonists portrayed as an ethereal spirit whom only David can see. Their initial anger with each other makes way to curiosity, and then he decides he will help her find out where she worked, and - if possible - why nobody else can see her, and why she doesn’t appear to have a physical body.
It’s essentially a romantic story with this rather basic difference, but it’s also amusing in places - Katrina (Ivana Milicevic) , a young and seductive woman in the same apartment block makes strong advances towards David, leaving little to the imagination. And there’s Darryl (Jon Heder), a vaguely hippy-ish man who owns a shop selling supernatural books. He turns out to be the only person who can even sense Elizabeth, so David turns to him for help.
There’s also a clever scene in a bar, where David meets his only real friend Jack (Donal Logue) and is determined to get drunk. Elizabeth is equally determined that he won’t - as a doctor she’s concerned about his alcohol intake - and a battle ensues. It’s very well choreographed and executed.
There are some much more serious issues involved too - the reason David is morose and unwilling to socialise gradually comes to light, and his unusual relationship with Elizabeth helps him to start to live again. And the whole issue of junior doctors overworking underlies this, along with some hints of dubious medical ethics, in one or two individuals.
The chemistry between David and Elizabeth is excellent, gradually growing as they get to know each other, and their timing is superb. The script is good, the pace just right, and the ending, if a tad cheesy, exactly right.
The rating is PG in the UK, which surprises me slightly; the US rating is PG-13, which seems more appropriate. There are no scenes of intimacy, although much is implied; there’s mild violence, though mostly humorous. And the bad language is fairly mild. However the subject matter isn’t at all appropriate for children - I wouldn’t really recommend anyone below the age of about 15 or 16 watch it.
There are some extras on our DVD: we watched a short documentary about the making of the film with commentary from various people involved in the production. We also saw the ‘gag’ scenes, of which several were shots of actors laughing at inappropriate moments, and we saw the deleted scenes including a much less appealing alternative ending.
Definitely recommended to older teens or adults if you like the rom-com genre.
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