Parents' Guide to

A Little Bit of Heaven

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Bizarre combo of terminal cancer weepy and sexy romcom.

Movie PG-13 2012 90 minutes
A Little Bit of Heaven Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 1 parent review

laurelh
laurelh Adult
September 7, 2015
age 15+

Unrealistic

I'm only 15 minutes into this film and already I see a problem. I have no idea why Marley is hallucinating or dying or whatever during her colonoscopy. She's under conscious sedation, that's how it's done, and Versed (midazolam) is the drug of choice. There's no reason for her to be waking up when it's over because she was never asleep to begin with. This just doesn't happen. I've assisted at colonoscopies. I'll watch the rest of this, but I'm already disappointed at the unnecessary and very unrealistic drama.
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What's the Story?

Marley (Kate Hudson) is a free-spirited New Orleans advertising executive who has everything going for her: great friends, no-strings-attached dates, fantastic job. Then, after experiencing some stomach issues, she's unexpectedly diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. But all is not grim, because her physician is the sweet and handsome Dr. Julian Goldstein (Gael Garcia Bernal), and a brief visit with God (Whoopi Goldberg) provides her with three final wishes. As her diagnosis worsens, Marley finds herself more and more attracted to Julian and alternately angry and accepting of her condition.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

There's no denying that Hudson is adorable, and the New Orleans setting is magical, but those are the only positives. This syrupy end-of-life drama is a strangely off-putting combination of overly-sentimental "seize the day" messages and a traditional romantic comedy. Terminal cancer patient falls for her hunky doctor -- talk about a bizarre meet-cute. While there are snippets of the story that work (Peter Dinklage is hilarious as a male escort in a brief sequence), the majority of A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN is just confusing and cringe inducing.

It's not that the conflation of love and death is anything new. Plenty of movies combine the theme of finding or securing love and facing the end of life, but there's nothing particularly romantic about Marley and Julian's relationship. The life lessons she imparts are extremely clichéd -- carpe diem, tell people you love them, don't close yourself off to love, even if it's short-lived -- and at the very end, even the prolonged death vigil isn't the tear-jerker you'd expect from the genre. But if you love Hudson enough, you might just enjoy the sight of her smiling and dancing her charming self to heaven.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why so many dramas feature dying characters. How do movies portray people who are dying?

  • How are sexual relationships depicted in A Little Bit of Heaven? How does Marley's attitude toward love change as her prognosis worsens?

  • Are movies about dying characters appropriate for younger audiences? Were you surprised by the fact that Marley doesn't get better? What are some other movies that handle death in a touching manner?

Movie Details

  • In theaters: May 4, 2012
  • On DVD or streaming: June 12, 2012
  • Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Kate Hudson, Lucy Punch
  • Director: Nicole Kassell
  • Inclusion Information: Latinx actors
  • Studio: DreamWorks
  • Genre: Drama
  • Run time: 90 minutes
  • MPAA rating: PG-13
  • MPAA explanation: sexual content, including crude references, and language
  • Last updated: September 26, 2022

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