Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Plot: Remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan.  An Angel takes an athlete to Heaven by mistake - and returns him to life in the body of a murdered Millionaire.
Stars:  Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Jack Warden, Charles Grodin, Dyan Cannon

Background
Produced, co-written,  and co-directed by Warren Beatty, this was his most popular film, earning $80 million in domestic Box-office alone.  The Film earned nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. However, the critics were less enthusiastic, with Roger Ebert giving the film 3 stars, and Kael dismissing the film as a "bland, safe choice". Today it has a mediocre 6.6 IMDB rating from the "Top 1000 Reviewers".

A Pleasant Romantic Comedy
And an overall improvement on Here Comes Mr. Jordan. But then, it should be, given the large budget and all-star cast. Only 104 minutes, its rarely laugh-out loud funny, but it moves quickly and is consistently amusing. Beatty dominates the movie - he's in almost every scene - and is charming and likable. The biggest flaw?  No chemistry between Julie Christie (in a terrible frizzy hair-do) and Beatty. Which is odd, given their long-term relationship.

Didn't Deserve Nine Oscar Nominations
The Oscar nominating committee seems to have loved Warren Beatty. While Heaven Can Wait is a nice Rom-Com, its not "Best Picture" or "Best Director" material.  Was 1978 a slow year?

Going through the other major awards.

• Best Actor - Nothing special here.  Beatty plays the same character he usually does: a quiet, nice, stumbling, average guy.  Only slightly different from "George" in Shampoo.
• Best Screenplay - Another puzzler. The movie's overall story and characters, even individual scenes, are lifted from the original play and Here Comes Mr. Jordan. 
• Supporting Cast - One deserved (Warden), one undeserved (Cannon). The one for Dyan Cannon makes no sense. She has few lines and is more shrill then funny. 

Cast Comparison  Here Come's Mr. Jordan vs. Heaven Can Wait

• Leading Man - Winner? Beatty. Not only is Beatty more charismatic, but Montgomery is hampered by the requirement to be a "dem and does" low-class boxer. It hampers his performance.
• Leading Lady - Advantage Keyes.  Her love affair with Montgomery  is much more better & powerful. 
• Mr Jordan - Rains wins.  Not only is James Mason "low-energy", Mason is incapable of being unambiguously good. 
• Other Supporting Actors: Warden outshines his 1941 counter-part, while Grodin and Cannon are more memorable villains.  
• Buck Henry - The only real stinker.  He wins the "Carl Reiner Award for worst performance by a comedy writer performing his own material".