Critical Reaction
Although the film was popular, it was overshadowed by Witherspoon's more high-profile and almost simultaneously released blockbuster Walk the Line, for which she won an Academy Award.
Critics were mixed on the film. The film achieved a 56% approval rating from 149 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and the consensus "Delightfully sweet like a lollipop, Just Like Heaven is a dreamy romantic comedy that may give you a toothache when it attempts to broach difficult end of life issues by throwing a cherry on top." However, the most prominent critics – such as Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper, and A. O. Scott – gave it favorable reviews; they all agreed that the plot had logical flaws that were somewhat overcome by good dialogue and characterization.
The performances of Witherspoon, Ruffalo, and Heder were all generally well received. Heder's appearance helped to debunk an urban legend that the actor had died shortly after filming Napoleon Dynamite.
The DVD release in February 2006 was given unusually strong promotional publicity.
Read more about this topic: Just Like Heaven (film)
Famous quotes containing the words critical and/or reaction:
“Probably more than youngsters at any age, early adolescents expect the adults they care about to demonstrate the virtues they want demonstrated. They also tend to expect adults they admire to be absolutely perfect. When adults disappoint them, they can be critical and intolerant.”
—The Lions Clubs International and the Quest Nation. The Surprising Years, I, ch.4 (1985)
“Christianity was only a very strong and singularly well-timed Salvation Army movement that happened to receive help from an unusual and highly dramatic incident. It was a Puritan reaction in an age when, no doubt, a Puritan reaction was much wanted; but like all sudden violent reactions, it soon wanted reacting against.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)