Passaggio per il paradiso

Heavenly Kid, The (1985)

*** (out of 4)

Rebel Without a Cause and It's a Wonderful Life meet the 80s teen comedy in this film which is certainly very bad but I've enjoyed it for many years now. The film starts off in the late 1960's as the rebel (Lewis Smith) gets killed in a chicken race. Fast forward to the present day and the rebel must do a good deed before he can enter Heaven. That good deed just happens to be taking a dork (Jason Gedrick) and turning him into a winner. Everything about this film is rather campy and corny but I've been a fan of this film since I was a little kid and caught it on some station that I can't remember now. This was my first time watching the movie in at least ten years and I must say it did contain that nostalgic feel and I still enjoyed it. The film has some of the dumbest lines but they made me laugh. The story is stupid but it's still funny. The performances are all one note but I've always felt Lewis Smith was very funny because he's playing someone cool yet he really doesn't come off too cool.

... you might enjoy the location, as it was filmed there! If I remember correctly, the film was shot over the summer of 1984 at the school. Noticeable is part of the main hallway, one of the classrooms in the main hallway near the east entrance (the few with windows - most of the remaining classrooms had them removed) and the dreaded cafeteria. In the background there's familiar posters and signs from the era: the "SKATEBOARDING USA" sign honors Mr. David Hudak, one of the school's English teachers and the 'Pioneer Regiment' is the name of the school marching band. Contrary to popular belief, the school wasn't painted pink for the film, it was done afterward.

I have loaned this to my friends (and their kids) of many ages and all have really enjoyed it. The sketch about the "spazola" had me in stitches although not politically correct these days Also, catch a look at Richard Mulligan as Rafferty (the man from "Soap" I'm told) I believe this film is very underrated but Sadly it is seldom seen on English TV apart from occasionally on Sky. However, should you ever get a chance to watch it...I would thoroughly recommend it ! It has sadness, humour, sex (A little), comedy and a story which is more than a lot of films these days. And..... The whole family can sit down together and enjoy it

It is unfortunate that "The Heavenly Kid" became lost under the vast muddle of slick teen comedies that were so rampant during the mid 1980's. This film, which has a pre-"Malcolm In The Middle" Jane Kaczmarek, "Animal House's" Mark Metcalf, "Backdraft's" Jason Gedrick, and veteran actor Richard Mulligan, really shined through for me as an entertaining (yet predictable) dramedy on guardian angels.

It is the story of a brash 1960's greaser named Bobby Fantana, amiably played by TV actor Lewis Smith, who meets an untimely demise in a drag race accident. Once transported into the Afterlife, Bobby teams up with his roguish, motorcycle-driving spectral mentor Rafferty (Mulligan) and discovers from him that he hasn't quite earned his right into Paradise, and the only way he can redeem himself is to undertake an earthly assignment in assisting the mortals. Fast forwarding to the 1980's, Bobby is given the dubious task of coaching Lenny Barnes (Gedrick), a gifted, gawky teen who is a popular target for the class bullies. It's up to him to befriend and guide the boy through his little life crisis, and he decides to transform Lenny into a cool, confident splitting-image of himself that soon gains the attention of his peers. All is fine until Lenny's newfound cockiness butts heads with his family and with two of his old tormentors, who finally challenge him to a drag race of their own. It's then up to Bobby to rectify the damage he has unintentionally done and save Lenny from repeating history while hopefully garnering his wings at last.

Although many critics have scathed this film for a rather shallow, loopholed storyline, "The Heavenly Kid" does exude some attributes that I have come to enjoy over the years. The soundtrack is one of the best I've heard for an 80's teen flick; just love "Out on the Edge" during Bobby's fatal racing scene. Lewis Smith's performance gives a uniquely genial quality to his loner character that makes a sometimes funny "Odd-Couplesque" persona with both Gedrick and Mulligan. Seeing Bobby acclimate to the radically different 80's pop culture brings a laugh or two to myself! Finally, even though the ending is entirely predictable, it always leaves me feeling good inside, even on a bleak, rainy Saturday.

It is also unfortunate that "The Heavenly Kid" has gone out-of-print in recent years! I was lucky enough to record it off of HBO this past summer for my collection, but I think it does deserve a chance for a VHS/DVD re-release. This is one comedy that the entire family can enjoy, provided there's no objection to some PG-13 based language and adult humor.

A kid (Lewis Smith) from the late-1960s (who appears to be from the 1950s due to his antics and wardrobe) dies one night in a chicken car race. He is unable to get into Heaven though because of his life on Earth so thus he goes back to the 1980s and tries to help a dorky high school student (Jason Gedrick) become popular and cool. Also along for the ride is Gedrick's mother/Lewis' old girlfriend (Jane Kaczmarek of "Malcolm in the Middle" fame) and motorcycle-riding guardian angel Richard Mulligan. So many plot holes and predictable twists stall this one pretty fast. Smith and Mulligan do what they can together, but they have elementary-styled aspects of film-making to work with. Everything else is not worth your time or effort. Not the worst film of the time period, but another one of those unwanted footnotes from the mid-1980s. 2 stars out of 5.