Just Like Heaven

A feel-good romantic comedy that made me feel really good.

The Plot: Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon) has taken workaholic to another level. She clocks twenty hours in the hospital, busily saving others' lives when the life she should be saving is her own, until it's too late.

David (Mark Ruffalo) rents an apartment in California, far from where he came, to forget a painful past. He shuts himself from the rest of the world, so the last thing he wants is company.

Imagine his surprise when Elizabeth suddenly shows up in his apartment, insisting the place is hers. Surprise turns to terror when Elizabeth disappears before his eyes. Terror turns to annoyance when he realizes that Elizabeth is determined to stick around. He's sure she's dead; she's convinced she's still alive. If only she can remember anything from her past...

With David reluctantly helping her, Elizabeth soon discovers the truth. Her body is lying in a coma and what remains is merely a matter of whether or not to pull the plug. Why then is her spirit still lingering? What, or who, is her unfinished business?

The Review: The skeptic would think that everything about the movie is impossible. I have to agree. If a spirit suddenly appears before me and insists that my apartment is his, I'd get out of the place fast. But the movie is all about suspending your disbelief and just delight in the light and funny moments shared by the sweet Reese Witherspoon and the handsome Mark Ruffalo. In no time, you will be pulled in by the movie and any thought of the inconceivability of the situation is driven from your mind. In fact, when I was pulled in, I didn't see a man being haunted by a dead person who didn't know she was dead (remember The Sixth Sense?). Instead, I saw this really cute couple whose lively exchange of dialogues gave humor to a rather morbid premise. The chemistry between Reese and Mark was there, which was a major accomplishment for the movie considering that it was only at the latter part that they got physical. It was more of their bickering that established the chemistry, and effectively so, because by the time David realizes that he loves Elizabeth, I was so moved...and the setting wasn't even romantic. Just when I thought that everything would end well with Elizabeth finally 'coming back to life', another conflict presented itself when she doesn't remember David. I won't take it against the writers though for suspending the inevitable, because this conflict made the ending all the more sweet. The movie was everything a romantic comedy should be...sweet and charming.


David: Have you had any traumatic experiences recently?
Elizabeth: Like what?
David: Oh, I don't know...like DYING?



The Rating: 8/10. Righteous.

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