Alan Rudolph's MADE IN HEAVEN is a pleasant, sweet-natured romantic comedy with a twist; the lovers meet in Heaven, after our hero (Timothy Hutton) dies, rescuing a family from a car that plunges into a river. It may seem familiar territory to viewers of Robin Williams' drama, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, in it's depiction of the afterlife and reincarnation, and the Albert Brooks' fantasy, DEFENDING YOUR LIFE, which also involves a romance in Heaven (in Brooks' case, with Meryl Streep). Without the budget of the Williams' film (which won an Oscar for it's visual effects), or Brooks' occasionally caustic humor about Divine Judgment, MADE IN HEAVEN is a simpler tale, weaving in a theme of predestination between lovers 'meant' to be together, which makes it a perfect 'date' movie.
Hutton, dealing with being dead and in 'Paradise', appreciates the support of his Aunt Lisa (Maureen Stapleton), a long-dead budding painter in a heavenly Paris, but finds that he is lonely, and feels out of place. Then he meets heavenly guide Annie (Kelly McGillis), a new 'soul', who had never 'lived' on earth before, and the pair soon fall for each other, filling both his need for love and companionship, and her's, for an understanding of life, and passion. They marry, after being granted permission by 'The Boss', Emmett (an unbilled Debra Winger, who plays the male role very convincingly!)
Everything seems perfectly heavenly...until Anne's number is called to be born on Earth. Despite Hutton's pleas that the pair were 'meant' to be together, Anne's destiny cannot be changed...but he does convince Emmett to allow him to be 'reborn' on Earth, insisting that the pair's love would bring them together. With the understanding that his new life may not return him to Heaven, Emmett grants him 30 years to connect with Annie...or else.
In true soap opera fashion, the pair live wildly different lives, and have unfulfilling relationships with other partners, while each experiences flashbacks of the true love they had experienced in Heaven. Time is running out, however, and Hutton's 30th birthday is rapidly approaching, without meeting his soulmate...
A modest film, with a great supporting cast (including Tim Daly, Don Murray, Mare Winningham, and Amanda Plummer), MADE IN HEAVEN's theme, that Love truly DOES conquer all, is irresistible.
Grab YOUR soulmate, and enjoy it!
