A Little Bit of Heaven
3/4
Starring: Kate Hudson, Gael Garcia Bernal, Lucy Punch, Rosemarie DeWitt, Romany Malco, Kathy Bates, Treat Williams
Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content, including Crude References, and Language
"A Little Bit of Heaven" is a bittersweet comedy about a bubbly woman dying of cancer. Now that may seem like an oxymoron, since cancer is a painful and traumatic experience for all parties involved, but this is a fantasy. At no point is this movie meant to be of gut-churning realism. There are other movies available if that is your thing. Some may still find this offensive. I found it to be funny and sweet, mainly due to the terrific performance by Kate Hudson.
Marlee Corbett (Hudson) has what many would call the perfect life. She's beautiful, wealthy, self-confident, and always has a one-night stand on speed dial if she desires. She doesn't have a boyfriend, but she doesn't want one. Her friends, which include her co-worker Sarah (Punch), her sister Renee (DeWitt), her brother-in-law Thomas (Jason Blair) and Peter (Malco), her gay neighbor next door. But lately, she's been feeling under the weather. Sarah encourages her to go see a doctor, who turns out to be Dr. Julian Goldstein (Bernal), a cute (but not in my opinion) but socially awkward doctor who can't tell a joke to save his life. After some tests, Marlee finds out that she has colon cancer, and her prognosis is not good. But Marlee isn't going to let that stop her from enjoying life.
Like many people, I first became aware of Kate Hudson after her brilliant performance in Cameron Crowe's masterful ode to rock 'n roll, "Almost Famous," for which she was awarded a much deserved Oscar nomination (an award she should have won). Her future performances proved how limited her range actually is, but in the right role, which is the case here, she can be better than anyone.
Hudson's effervescent personality bursts off the screen as Marlee. This is the girl we'd all like to have around us: beautiful, sweet, a little mischievous, and an all around good person. She has her flaws, mainly that she can't stand her parents (Bates and Williams) and makes no secret of it. But Hudson makes us want to touch the screen and bring her into the real world.
Her co-stars are effective, but this is Hudson's show. Of the supporting cast, Lucy Punch (in a far cry from her role as Amy Squirrel in "Bad Teacher") and Rosemarie DeWitt, impress the most. Both are struggling to come to grips with the fact that Marlee's time on Earth is now limited. Director Nicole Kassell, whose previous feature was "The Woodsman," a film starring Kevin Bacon as a former child molester trying to start anew, sometimes struggles to give all the supporting characters their moments, but for the most part she keeps the focus on Marlee, and that's the best course. After all, it's impossible not to fall in love with her.
This is not a perfect movie, even for a tearjerker (I was smiling the whole time but never got choked up), but it works. It's sweet, affecting, and occasionally quite funny (the scene with Peter Dinklage as a prostitute is a case in point, although the best part of the scene is given away in the trailer). Marlee's realization of her own mortality comes abruptly and her snotty behavior to all (and I mean all) of her friends is poorly motivated and takes too long (to the point where it gets kind of repetitive). And for such a lovey-duvy couple, Hudson and Bernal don't share much chemistry (although both of them give good performances).
Still, I liked "A Little Bit of Heaven."
Starring: Kate Hudson, Gael Garcia Bernal, Lucy Punch, Rosemarie DeWitt, Romany Malco, Kathy Bates, Treat Williams
Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content, including Crude References, and Language
"A Little Bit of Heaven" is a bittersweet comedy about a bubbly woman dying of cancer. Now that may seem like an oxymoron, since cancer is a painful and traumatic experience for all parties involved, but this is a fantasy. At no point is this movie meant to be of gut-churning realism. There are other movies available if that is your thing. Some may still find this offensive. I found it to be funny and sweet, mainly due to the terrific performance by Kate Hudson.
Marlee Corbett (Hudson) has what many would call the perfect life. She's beautiful, wealthy, self-confident, and always has a one-night stand on speed dial if she desires. She doesn't have a boyfriend, but she doesn't want one. Her friends, which include her co-worker Sarah (Punch), her sister Renee (DeWitt), her brother-in-law Thomas (Jason Blair) and Peter (Malco), her gay neighbor next door. But lately, she's been feeling under the weather. Sarah encourages her to go see a doctor, who turns out to be Dr. Julian Goldstein (Bernal), a cute (but not in my opinion) but socially awkward doctor who can't tell a joke to save his life. After some tests, Marlee finds out that she has colon cancer, and her prognosis is not good. But Marlee isn't going to let that stop her from enjoying life.
Like many people, I first became aware of Kate Hudson after her brilliant performance in Cameron Crowe's masterful ode to rock 'n roll, "Almost Famous," for which she was awarded a much deserved Oscar nomination (an award she should have won). Her future performances proved how limited her range actually is, but in the right role, which is the case here, she can be better than anyone.
Hudson's effervescent personality bursts off the screen as Marlee. This is the girl we'd all like to have around us: beautiful, sweet, a little mischievous, and an all around good person. She has her flaws, mainly that she can't stand her parents (Bates and Williams) and makes no secret of it. But Hudson makes us want to touch the screen and bring her into the real world.
Her co-stars are effective, but this is Hudson's show. Of the supporting cast, Lucy Punch (in a far cry from her role as Amy Squirrel in "Bad Teacher") and Rosemarie DeWitt, impress the most. Both are struggling to come to grips with the fact that Marlee's time on Earth is now limited. Director Nicole Kassell, whose previous feature was "The Woodsman," a film starring Kevin Bacon as a former child molester trying to start anew, sometimes struggles to give all the supporting characters their moments, but for the most part she keeps the focus on Marlee, and that's the best course. After all, it's impossible not to fall in love with her.
This is not a perfect movie, even for a tearjerker (I was smiling the whole time but never got choked up), but it works. It's sweet, affecting, and occasionally quite funny (the scene with Peter Dinklage as a prostitute is a case in point, although the best part of the scene is given away in the trailer). Marlee's realization of her own mortality comes abruptly and her snotty behavior to all (and I mean all) of her friends is poorly motivated and takes too long (to the point where it gets kind of repetitive). And for such a lovey-duvy couple, Hudson and Bernal don't share much chemistry (although both of them give good performances).
Still, I liked "A Little Bit of Heaven."
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