When I was in high school, I remember sitting in countless Lit classes discussing classic novels and stories, trying to determine what the writer was "trying to say" in each of them. I understand that the goal was to try and develop "critical thinking" skills and teach you to analyze and understand what you're reading, but I kept coming back to the thought that maybe the writer was just, you know, trying to tell a story.
I felt about the same when I read the Entertainment Weekly review of Just Like Heaven and found it discussing whether the movie was a metaphor for the Terry Schiavo case. First off, I think that's giving the movie credit for much deeper meaning than it could possibly support (although, in checking Rotten Tomatoes, EW isn't the only one to see the politics in this movie). And I'm left wondering if that means I should dislike the movie for its politics, or simply for its lame second act.
I guess this is where I should warn you that I'm going to talk about things you don't want to know about if you haven't seen the movie (and still care), but I can't find the energy to SHOUT spoiler alert here. So take is as a given.
Let me acknowledge, once again, that I have lower critical standards for some genres of film than I do for others. I tend to let the big, explosive summertime action movies and light, fluffy romantic comedies skate along on what merits they can display, rather than dinging them for the obvious failings their genres are prey to. I don't expect anything groundbreaking or truly touching from either (and am pleasantly surprised when I get either). So I walked into Just Like Heaven (I could say my wife dragged me to see it, but I'm rather resigned to going to these movies now, so there wasn't a lot of dragging required) with pretty relaxed expectations.
And, for the most part, I got what I expected. Nothing groundbreaking, with charming performances from Witherspoon and Ruffalo and the occasional witty moment that got a chuckle out of me. A relatively amusing film with no great reason to dislike it.
But I did notice that, as soon as it's revealed that Witherspoon's character isn't dead and that, not only can they be together but that, in the inevitable logic of the romantic comedy, they MUST end up together… well, then it's just a waiting game for them to get on with it and stumble past the artificial obstacles keeping them apart. And the fact that they felt the need to subject the audience to a ludicrous "steal her body from the hospital" interlude once it was obvious what had to be done (think Prince Charming here) was just adding insult to injury.
There was a nice twist (which is really obvious upon looking back at the film) once she wakes up that gives the movie a little push to the ending, but it's too little way too late by now to really save it from mediocrity.
all in all, it's not a terrible film. But I'll be amazed if I remember any of the details in a month.
I felt about the same when I read the Entertainment Weekly review of Just Like Heaven and found it discussing whether the movie was a metaphor for the Terry Schiavo case. First off, I think that's giving the movie credit for much deeper meaning than it could possibly support (although, in checking Rotten Tomatoes, EW isn't the only one to see the politics in this movie). And I'm left wondering if that means I should dislike the movie for its politics, or simply for its lame second act.
I guess this is where I should warn you that I'm going to talk about things you don't want to know about if you haven't seen the movie (and still care), but I can't find the energy to SHOUT spoiler alert here. So take is as a given.
Let me acknowledge, once again, that I have lower critical standards for some genres of film than I do for others. I tend to let the big, explosive summertime action movies and light, fluffy romantic comedies skate along on what merits they can display, rather than dinging them for the obvious failings their genres are prey to. I don't expect anything groundbreaking or truly touching from either (and am pleasantly surprised when I get either). So I walked into Just Like Heaven (I could say my wife dragged me to see it, but I'm rather resigned to going to these movies now, so there wasn't a lot of dragging required) with pretty relaxed expectations.
And, for the most part, I got what I expected. Nothing groundbreaking, with charming performances from Witherspoon and Ruffalo and the occasional witty moment that got a chuckle out of me. A relatively amusing film with no great reason to dislike it.
But I did notice that, as soon as it's revealed that Witherspoon's character isn't dead and that, not only can they be together but that, in the inevitable logic of the romantic comedy, they MUST end up together… well, then it's just a waiting game for them to get on with it and stumble past the artificial obstacles keeping them apart. And the fact that they felt the need to subject the audience to a ludicrous "steal her body from the hospital" interlude once it was obvious what had to be done (think Prince Charming here) was just adding insult to injury.
There was a nice twist (which is really obvious upon looking back at the film) once she wakes up that gives the movie a little push to the ending, but it's too little way too late by now to really save it from mediocrity.
all in all, it's not a terrible film. But I'll be amazed if I remember any of the details in a month.
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