It’s a brand new month, baby! And this February, we’re talking all things paranormal. To kick things off, we’re discussing the 2005 film adaptation of Just Like Heaven, starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. Many people probably don’t remember this movie, which currently has mediocre ratings on review sites. The film is actually based on a 1999 French novel called If Only It Were True by Mark Levy, which Shirin read in high school, making her one of the few people on the planet to connect the source material to this fluffy rom-com.
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Just Like Heaven’s Plot
Reese Witherspoon plays Elizabeth, an emergency room doctor and workaholic. After working a 26-hour shift, she gets into a terrible car accident. The film then introduces David (Mark Ruffalo), a landscape architect struggling with alcoholism and grief over his wife’s sudden death. He moves into Elizabeth’s former apartment. Soon, Elizabeth’s “spirit” appears and thinks David has broken into her home. It takes some time for them to realize Elizabeth is in a coma, not dead.
David enlists his friend Darryl, played by Napoleon Dynamite’s John Heder, to help communicate with Elizabeth. Darryl reveals David’s backstory to the audience – his wife died unexpectedly, triggering David’s decline. Darryl says Elizabeth’s “spirit” seems too strong for her to actually be dead. After helping save a man during a restaurant medical emergency using Elizabeth’s medical knowledge, David realizes she must be a doctor. They investigate and learn she is a resident doctor in a coma after her car accident.
David and Elizabeth continue investigating her life and spend time together, with the film increasingly suggesting a romantic connection between them. David learns Elizabeth’s sister Abby has been asked to take her off life support, as doctors believe she has little chance of recovering. As David races to convince Abby not to do this, more comical hijinks unfold – David stealing Elizabeth’s body from the hospital with help from shady character Jack, who turns out to be Abby’s ex-boyfriend.
In the end, Elizabeth wakes up when her breathing tube is accidentally dislodged. She recognizes Abby but not David. After sadly walking away, David builds Elizabeth a rooftop garden she once mentioned wanting. When she sees it, her memories return, they kiss, and the film ends.
A Lack of Chemistry and Intrigue
We criticize many aspects of the film – the lack of chemistry between Witherspoon and Ruffalo, the mishandling of David’s serious grief, nonsensical plot points, boring pacing, and over-reliance on montages. We argue the film hasn’t aged well and exemplifies some issues with certain romantic comedies of the era. Despite starring two good actors, it’s ultimately dull and full of questionable messages and attempted humor around distressing situations.
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We continue discussing additional issues with the film Just Like Heaven. Despite Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo being talented actors, their characters have no chemistry. Any romance between Elizabeth and David feels forced rather than a natural progression. Much of their dialogue simply tells the audience they are falling in love rather than showing it genuinely unfolding.
The character of David raises many concerns. His serious grief over his wife’s shocking death is used more for comedy than thoughtful storytelling. The film never shows David going to therapy or properly working through this trauma before rapidly moving on with Elizabeth. It propagates the harmful idea that finding new love can “cure” someone of grief. Their entire relationship timeline is questionable, having known each other only briefly before declaring love.
Other secondary characters are also poorly constructed. David’s friend Jack is positioned as a therapist who encourages his unhealthy coping mechanisms and questionable decision-making regarding Elizabeth. A female neighbor sexually harasses David in a way that feels out of touch versus how modern films depict women and romance. The characters never face real consequences or growth.
The paranormal aspect of Elizabeth’s coma and possible ghost is never fully explained or incorporated meaningfully. Strange moments like the ending with Darryl and the snow globe have no relevance. The film includes too many superficial montages and slapstick humor at the expense of character depth. We agree that many romantic comedies of this era relied too heavily on tropes without building compelling stories.
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Final Thoughts
While we may sound harsh, we welcome counter perspectives. We ultimately feel Just Like Heaven wasted talented lead actors on a subpar script full of plot holes and offensive stereotypes. It demonstrates how some genres and stories from 20 years ago have not aged gracefully today. But we understand others may still enjoy it as a lighthearted but forgettable film. We aim for thoughtful critique over needless criticism, and encourage fans of this film to engage us in fun debate! Please share your thoughts.
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