The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Just Like Heaven
Comedy · Romance · Fantasy · 2005
Shortly after David Abbott moves into his new San Francisco digs, he has an unwelcome visitor on his hands: winsome Elizabeth Masterson, who asserts that the apartment is hers -- and promptly vanishes. When she starts appearing and disappearing at will, David thinks she's a ghost, while Elizabeth is convinced she's alive.
Movie details
Just Like Heaven
“It's a wonderful afterlife.”
2005 Comedy · Romance · Fantasy 1h 35m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.0 / 10
Community rating
Shortly after David Abbott moves into his new San Francisco digs, he has an unwelcome visitor on his hands: winsome Elizabeth Masterson, who asserts that the apartment is hers -- and promptly vanishes. When she starts appearing and disappearing at will, David thinks she's a ghost, while Elizabeth is convinced she's alive.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Just Like Heaven?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Girl Haunts Boy
Fantasy · 2024
Cole, a teen grieving the loss of his dad, forms an unlikely bond with Bea, a ghost. As they navigate life and death, they must break an ancient curse.
Heart and Souls
Fantasy · 1993
A fateful night in 1959, four people die when the bus they are riding crashes. They continue as ghosts; their souls become eternally entwined to the life of a child born at the moment of their deaths as his guardians. Baby Thomas grows up to be a businessman who has memories of his playmates, but assumes they are products of his youthful imagination. When the ghosts realize they need Thomas' help to move on to the afterlife, they decide to make an appearance once more.
The Heavenly Kid
Fantasy · 1985
After dying in a car crash, Bobby Fantana is forced to pay for his misdeeds by becoming someone's guardian angel. He reluctantly agrees to watch over awkward high schooler Lenny Barnes, teaching him how to be cool and confident. As Bobby teaches Lenny, the two form a close bond.
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Fantasy · 1985
Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia goes to see 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' in hopes of raising her spirits, where she watches dashing archaeologist Tom Baxter time and again.
The Wrong Paris
Romance · 2025
Dawn thinks she's joining a dating show in Paris, France, only to land in Paris, Texas. She has an exit plan — until sparks fly with the cowboy bachelor.
Under the Tuscan Sun
Romance · 2003
Frances Mayes, a 35-year-old professor and writer from San Francisco, decides to take a tour of Tuscany following a difficult divorce. After impulsively buying a run-down villa in the Italian countryside, she begins to piece her life back together in unexpected ways.
Date with an Angel
Comedy · 1987
Aspiring composer Jim Sanders is engaged to spoiled rich girl Patty. But the morning after his bachelor party, Jim wakes up to discover a beautiful, broken-winged angel in his pool. When everyone finds out about his heavenly houseguest, Jim must cope with a dangerously jealous fiancée, an exploitive future father-in-law and a group of buddies with an outrageous business plan!
Isn't It Romantic
Comedy · 2019
For a long time, Natalie, an Australian architect living in New York City, had always believed that what she had seen in rom-coms is all fantasy. But after thwarting a mugger at a subway station only to be knocked out while fleeing, Natalie wakes up and discovers that her life has suddenly become her worst nightmare—a romantic comedy—and she is the leading lady.
Doc Hollywood
Comedy · 1991
After leaving Washington D.C. hospital, plastic surgeon Ben Stone heads for California, where a lucrative practice in Beverly Hills awaits. After a car accident, he's sentenced to perform as the community's general practitioner.
Can You Keep a Secret?
Romance · 2019
Emma Corrigan, a girl with a few secrets, thinks she’s about to die on a turbulent plane ride. She spills them all to the handsome stranger sitting next to her. At least, she thought he was a stranger. But then, her company’s young and elusive CEO, arrives at the office. It’s him. And he knows every single humiliating detail about her.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Mark Waters
Written by
Peter Tolan · Leslie Dixon
Reese Witherspoon
Dr. Elizabeth Masterson
Mark Ruffalo
David Abbott
Donal Logue
Jack Houriskey
Dina Spybey-Waters
Abby Brody
Ben Shenkman
Dr. Brett Rushton
Jon Heder
Darryl
Ivana Miličević
Katrina
Court is in session
Put Just Like Heaven on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.