A few weeks ago I wrote my review of Heaven Can Wait in it I stated that the 1978 film starring Warren Beatty was a remake of a different Oscar nominated film - Here Comes Mr. Jordan which I am next to watch. In the film Robert Montgomery plays the prize fighter Joe Pendleton who crashes his plane on his way to his championship fight as he was too busy playing with his lucky saxaphone. He is transported to heaven by one of the many messengers whose job it is to transport bodies from this life to the next however when the messenger tells his boss Mr. Jordan about Pendleton's arrival it seems that he is fifty years too early. Jordan, Pendleton and the Messenger then have to find a new body for him as his remains have been cremated by his manager Max. Finally Pendelton's spirit is repackaged in the body of millionaire Farnsworth who has just been murdered by his wife and his business secretary who are conductin an affair. As Farnsworth, Joe falls for the beautiful Miss Logan and helps get her father out of jail before convincing Max that he is still Joe and helping him train 'Farnsworth' up for a prize fight. Before he can carry on his fight Jordan warns him that his time as Farnsworth is up as he gets shot again and this time killed by his wife. Eventually Joe is able to inhabit the body of his rival Murdoch who has been shot by gamblers during his title match. After winning the title Joe as Murdoch is able to tell Max about the murder and Farnsworth's wife is murdered. Jordan than eliminates any memories of Joe from Murdoch's mind but he still hires Max as his manager and goes off with Miss Logan at the end of the film.
Here Comes Mr. Jordan is an enjoyable and lightweight comedy whose main strength is its cast. Although his performance is slightly grating at times, Montgomery is fine as the man who keeps jumping from body to body trying to find his identity. However it is Claude Rains' performance as Mr. Jordan which really did it for me being both sensitive and charming as well as witty Raines is able to explore his range. Jordan never shouts but is always present when Joe needs some advice this is a good plot device which is used very well. The one thing I had a problem with is there is not enough information about Farnsworth the motivations that his wife wants to kill him apart from his money or the romance with Miss Logan to find myself caring about either of these relationships. However the film mainly is about the bromance between Joe and Max and I found myself really routing for these two to come good and in the end Max got to manage the champion in Joe as Murdoch. While it doesn't really feel like a worthy Oscar contender Here Comes Mr. Jordan is an easy watch but at the same it is a little frustrating and wraps everything up very quickly but not as neatly as it wants to but at least its less offensive than the 2001 Chris Rock remake Down to Earth, whether Beatty's remake is better will have to be seen when we get to the 1970s.
No comments:
Post a Comment