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A Little Bit of Heaven

Release Date 04 Feb 2011 04 Jul 2011

  • User rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.
  • Critic rating
  • Currently 1/5 Stars.

  53% of raters want to see this movie

Certificate: 12A

Genre: Comedy | Drama | Romance

Marley Corbett, a carefree woman with a promising career, great friends, and witty sense of humor, learns that she has terminal cancer. She is told the news by Dr. Goldstein, a successful doctor with a hardened exterior, who is deeply impressed and affected by the way Marley accepts the news of her fate with humor and dignity. From there, Marley and Julian find themselves falling in love, and doing their best to make the most of the time they have left.

Cast:
Kathy Bates | Peter Dinklage | Gael García Bernal | Whoopi Goldberg | Romany Malco | Rosemarie Dewitt | Treat Williams | Johann Urb | Kate Hudson | Lucy Punch

Writers:
Gren Wells

Producers:
John Davis | Mark Gill | Robert Katz

Directors:
Nicole Kassell

  • Critic rating
  • Currently 1/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

The ever-perky Hudson plays ad demon Marley Corbett, diagnosed with terminal cancer and determined to go out smiling. And bonking Gael Garcia Bernal’s doc Julian. Actually, good old God (Goldberg) grants her three last wishes (as is His wont, apparently), so, Marley chooses a million dollars and an ability to fly.

THE VERDICT: Imagine the bogawful Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves movie Sweet November as a comedy. Only with the Queen of Really Crap Romantic Comedies, Kate Hudson, and the should-have-known-better Gael Garcia Bernal. And with more laughs. This is painfully bad. 

Review by Paul Byrne 

  • Avg User rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.

User Reviews

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    Onionhead

    Instead of straying from the conformity of modern romance stories, 'A Little Bit of Heaven' grabs right onto them and holds on for dear life. It takes almost all of the elements of past "dying comedies" (like Queen Latifah's 'Last Holiday' and Angelina Jolie's 'Life or Something Like It') and stuffs them into the film, including a funny "risk-taking" scene (hang gliding here), laughing off the condition as "not so bad," and falling in love with the doctor. It doesn't bother to add much of anything new, except the use of Whoopi Goldberg as God, though there have been funnier choices to play a deity (Alannis Morisette in 'Dogma' comes to mind). After Judd Apatow released 'Funny People,' even if it wasn't universally loved, I had hoped that this small subgenre of comedy would get a push in the right direction. Unfortunately, it looks as if it's going to continue to cling onto the same conventions for a bit longer. The film does contain some heartfelt moments that may jerk some tears from the ducts of our more emotional audience members, but after the emotional manipulation ends, there isn't much else. That being said, it's not really a poorly written film. It's just not a bravely written one and that will leave it to be nothing more than a forgettable entry in the filmographies for the otherwise talented cast.

    • Currently 1/5 Stars.

    mart

    This film is one long biopsy of pure horror: the tumours of sentimentality and bad acting metastasise everywhere, and Bernal, in particular, is horrendously bad.

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    Jenfiction

    If you're looking for an entertaining, weepy chick flick then this ticks all the right boxes. Honestly, Kate Hudson completely makes this film. She lightens the tone and is extremely likeable. If she wasn't in it, it wouldn't be half as good. This really does just have chick flick appeal, I wouldn't recommend it for boyfriends!

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    Randy

    A film which could be more if not confined to the status a romantic comedy. It's more about friendships and living life. Hudson does a great job balancing her character's life-loving nature and her fears due to cancer. Kathy Bates is delightful as her mother and has some nice scenes and dialog to play with. There are other great actors across the board portraying a variety of characters, who are more fleshed-out than the usual fillers, and minorities being well-represented. Contrary to the usual batch of chick-flicks (and I rarely watch any), the film is a brave move with a much broader focus on relationships between different people, love and letting do. Recommended.

    • Currently 1/5 Stars.

    WildRose86

    Depressing story. It's like the Titanic sinking, you're just waiting for it to happen. A few tears in the audience (I've no soul, so didn't cry) but something that may keep the missus happy if shes into romantic oozey cringey crap. With all the close ups of Hudson, I did notice she has a similar nose to my friend, worth a star rating.

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