Heaven Can Wait

A Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an over-anxious angel before he was supposed to die, comes back to life in the body of a recently-murdered millionaire.

• Director: Warren Beatty
• Genre:Comedy / Fantasy / Sport
• Runtime:101 minutes

Cast

Warren Beatty : Joe Pendleton
Julie Christie : Betty Logan
James Mason : Mr. Jordan
Jack Warden : Max Corkle
Charles Grodin : Tony Abbott

Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty), a backup quarterback for the American football team Los Angeles Rams, is looking forward to leading his team to the Super Bowl, when he is involved in a terrible collision with a truck. An over-anxious guardian angel on his first assignment (Buck Henry) plucks Joe out of his body early in the mistaken belief that his death is imminent, and Pendleton arrives in the afterlife.

Once there, he refuses to believe that his time was up, and upon investigation, the mysterious Mr. Jordan (James Mason) discovers that he is right; he was not destined to die until much later. Unfortunately, his body has already been cremated, so a new body must be found. After rejecting several possibilities (men who are about to die), Joe is finally persuaded to accept the body of millionaire Leo Farnsworth. Farnsworth has just been drugged and drowned in his bathtub by his wife Julia (Dyan Cannon) and her lover, Farnsworth’s personal secretary Tony Abbott (Charles Grodin).

Julia and Tony are naturally confused when Farnsworth reappears, alive and well. Joe Farnsworth buys the Los Angeles Rams in order to lead them to the Super Bowl as their quarterback. In order to succeed, he must first convince, and then secure the aid of, long-time friend and trainer Max Corkle (Jack Warden) to get his new body into shape.

At the same time, he falls in love with an environmental justice activist, Betty Logan (Julie Christie), who disapproves of what the industrialist’s company is doing. However, Julia and Abbott are not quite ready to give up on their murderous plans, and Abbott shoots Farnsworth dead. Joe then occupies another body, that of quarterback Thomas Jarrett, whose death is imminent. Joe leads the Rams to victory. During the team’s post-game victory celebration, Mr. Jordan removes Joe’s memory of his past life and departs. Joe becomes Thomas Jarrett and the cosmic balance is restored; yet Joe meets Betty again as she comes looking for him in the stadium, and the film ends with them getting close again. Read more