Heart and Souls (1993)

A businessman is reunited with the four lost souls who were his guardian angels during childhood, all with a particular purpose to joining the afterlife.

Director:

Ron Underwood

Writers:

Gregory Hansen (short film), Gregory Hansen (screen story)

Stars:

Robert Downey Jr., Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodard

1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Thomas Reilly
Charles Grodin	...	Harrison Winslow
Alfre Woodard	...	Penny Washington
Kyra Sedgwick	...	Julia
Tom Sizemore	...	Milo Peck
David Paymer	...	Hal the Bus Driver
Elisabeth Shue	...	Anne
Bill Calvert	...	Frank Reilly
Lisa Lucas	...	Eva Reilly
Shannon Orrock	...	Woman at Audition
Michael Zebulon	...	Singer at Audition
Chasiti Hampton	...	Shirley Washington - Age 7
Wanya Green	...	Diane Washington - Age 8
Janet MacLachlan	...	Agnes Miller
Javar David Levingston	...	Billy Washington - Age 4

Storyline

In 1959, in San Francisco, the telephone operator Penny Washington leaves her three children to work in her night shift. The shy singer Harrison Winslow is afraid of the stage and quits his audition. The waitress Julia is proposed by her boyfriend and she does not accept; then she regrets and leaves her job to seek him out. The smalltime thief Milo Peck tries to retrieve a collection of stamps that he had stolen from a boy. They embark in a bus and the driver Hal distracts while driving and has a serious accident, and driver and passengers die. Meanwhile, Frank Reilly is driving his pregnant wife Eva Reilly to the hospital. Frank successfully escapes from the bus but Eva is nervous and delivers her baby in the car. The souls of the four passengers become the guardian angels and the invisible friends of the boy Thomas Reilly. Seven years later, Penny, Julia, Harrison and Milo conclude that they are harming the boy and they decide to become invisible also to him. Thirty and something ...

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Plot Keywords:

bus | death | guardian angel | bus driver | afterlife | 

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Taglines:

The story of four souls who needed a body and one guy who needed some soul.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

4 fantasmi per un sogno

Filming Locations:

2810 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$16,581,714

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,Alphaville Films,Stampede Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Downey, Jr. has said of this film at the "Robert Downey, Jr. Film Guide" website: "Ron Underwood really attracted me to Heart and Souls. It's a character-driven film about sacrifice. The sacrifices people make for one another, and the sacrifice you have to make to find any semblance of bliss, and then there's Thomas, whose head is spinning from the realization that these souls are real, and he's going to have to bend a little to make room for them. Real fine, San Francisco, lots of money. Probably one of the best times in my life. Good movie. It's a fun movie, in which I only have to wear one costume. Even my hair stays the same in the whole movie, and the only thing I had to do was act. So that was a piece of cake."

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Goofs

Mr & Mrs Reilly were shown about to give birth in a 1958 Rambler. Their interior headshots displayed adjustable headrests in velour - not available in 1958.

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Quotes

Hal the Bus Driver: It is time, ooooh!
Milo Peck: It is time? Ooooh?

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Connections

References Taking Care of Business (1990)

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Soundtracks

Walk Like A Man
(uncredited)
Written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio
Performed by Tom Sizemore, Charles Grodin, Kyra Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard and Robert Downey Jr.

User Reviews

One of the Most Adorable Films of the 90's

In 1959, in San Francisco, the telephone operator Penny Washington (Alfre Woodard) leaves her three children to work in her night shift. The shy singer Harrison Winslow (Charles Grodin) is afraid of the stage and quits his audition. The waitress Julia (Kyra Sedgwick) is proposed by her boyfriend and she does not accept; then she regrets and leaves her job to seek him out. The smalltime thief Milo Peck (Tom Sizemore) tries to retrieve a valuable collection of stamps that he had stolen from a boy. They embark in a bus and the driver Hal (David Paymer) distracts while driving and has a serious accident, and driver and passengers die. Meanwhile, Frank Reilly (Bill Calvert) is driving his pregnant wife Eva Reilly (Lisa Lucas) to the hospital. Frank successfully escapes from the bus but Eva is nervous and delivers her baby in the car. The souls of the four passengers become the guardian angels and the invisible friends of the boy Thomas Reilly. Seven years later, Penny, Julia, Harrison and Milo conclude that they are harming the boy and they decide to become invisible also to him.

Thirty and something years later, Hal returns with his bus to take them four and the quartet learns that they had all those years to resolve the issues of their lives. They ask Hal to stall and give some more time for them to resolve their unfinished lives and they decide to come back to Thomas (Robert Downey Jr.), who is now a tough businessman and indecisive in his relationship with girlfriend Anne (Elisabeth Shue), and ask him to help them to resolve their issues and become free souls. In the end, Thomas also becomes a better man.

"Heart and Souls" is one of the most adorable films of the 90's. The writer uses the central idea of the successful "Ghost" (1990) to make a witty and delightful comedy, with state-of-art special effects in 1993.

Kyra Sedgwick, Tom Sizemore, Alfre Woodard, Charles Grodin and Robert Downey Jr. show an amazing chemistry and they really seem to have fun while shooting this film. Kyra Sedgwick shows a beautiful smile and Robert Downey Jr. is hilarious. The cameo of B.B. King is a plus that gives the status of cult to this film. The message in the end is very nice and I do not recall how many times I have seen "Heart and Souls" on VHS in the 90's. Yesterday I saw it on DVD for the first time and I only regret that there are no extras, only the film. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Morrendo e Aprendendo" ("Dying and Learning")