Parents' Guide to

Just Like Heaven

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Quirky romantic comedy with a dark-ish premise.

Movie PG-13 2005 95 minutes
Just Like Heaven Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 11+

Based on 4 parent reviews

age 10+

Don’t ban stories just don’t be afraid to call attention to stereotypes in books or film with the kids.

Passive racism - “you invited the whole Joy Luck Club over” says one protagonist to the other. Following the scene in which Chinese women are shown to be mystified by a smoke detector. These subtle slights should be mentioned and addressed by parents as they depict “minorities” as different and less than, perpetuating them insidiously as caricatures. Watch with the kids and then point this out to improve their cinematic literacy.
1 person found this helpful.
age 12+

Very cute romantic comedy

I really enjoy watching this movie. Very funny and worth watching. Some sexual scenes, non at all explicit, are played for laughs. Looking for a funny romcom? Watch this one. It won't disappoint. Ruffalo is amazing.

This title has:

Great role models
1 person found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4):
Kids say (9):

JUST LIKE HEAVEN is a Sleeping Beauty story refashioned to combine upbeat rom-com conventions and ER-lite medical-ethical dilemmas. It poses a grim question: Should a very nice young mother of two pull the life-support plug on her sister after three months of coma? It's a preposterous idea to cram into a romance.

And, while director Mark Waters is working with the completely charming and mostly convincing Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo, even this talented trio can't make this creepy perfect-ghost-girl idea go away. That doesn't mean they don't try.

Movie Details

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