Almost Heaven (2005)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Ed Herzog

Writers:

Ed Herzog (screenplay) &
Paul Herzberg (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 August 2005 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy | Music

Plot Keywords:

Con Woman | Female Singer | Caribbean | Ambition | Reggae

Cast

Heike Makatsch	...	Helen Schuster
Wotan Wilke Möhring	...	Carlo Schuster
Katharina Schmalenberg	...	Goth Patient
Ivan Shvedoff	...	Strike
Bernhard Marsch	...	Security Nerd
Piet Fuchs	...	Security Nerd
Valeria Risi	...	German Airline Representative
Wieslawa Wesolowska	...	Female Airport Security
Lars Gärtner	...	Male Airport Security
Kerry Stacey	...	Jamaican Woman at Security
Neila Ebanks	...	Stewardess
Michael London	...	Jamaican Priest
Natalie Thompson	...	Jamaican Airways Representative
Chris McFarlane	...	Taxi Driver
Carlton James	...	Elderly Man

Also Known As:

Almost Heaven - Ein Cowgirl auf Jamaika (Germany) (TV title)
Lively Up Yourself (Germany) (working title)

Runtime:

102 min | Canada:95 min (DVD version)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Canada:14A | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Cologne, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company:

Egoli Tossell Film

Movie Connections:

References Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Soundtrack:

Hill & Gully Ride

Ah, Jamaica, work ethic is not your forte

Heike Makatsch as Helen Schuster is dying. And if there's any chance for her to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a country western singer, it's now that's she's been invited to Nashville. We forgive her inattentiveness in getting on her plane out of Germany, because there's something very winning about this vulnerable woman with her cowgirl hat and barely passable voice. And so it begins, with Helen meeting a Jamaican woman, Nikki Amuka-Bird as Rosie who epitomizes the kind of island attitude you see for real all over the Caribbean.

This is mostly a movie about the relationship of Helen and Rosie though husbands and friends play important roles as well. The two main characters influence each other to higher levels in a believable and entertaining way. I'd see another film with Heike in it on the strength of this performance alone, and I look forward to seeing Nikki as a doctor in the upcoming remake of The Omen as that will be completely on the other end of the spectrum! Heike especially has a wonderful way about her that makes you wish you could be with her.