A Little Bit of Heaven (2011)

An irreverent young woman who uses her humor to prevent matters from getting serious has a life-changing visit with her doctor.

Director:

Nicole Kassell

Writer:

Gren Wells

Stars:

Kate Hudson, Gael García Bernal, Kathy Bates

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Hudson	...	Marley Corbett
Gael García Bernal	...	Julian Goldstein
Kathy Bates	...	Beverly Corbett
Lucy Punch	...	Sarah Walker
Romany Malco	...	Peter Cooper
Rosemarie DeWitt	...	Renee Blair (as Rosemarie Dewitt)
Whoopi Goldberg	...	God
Treat Williams	...	Jack Corbett
Steven Weber	...	Rob Randolf
Peter Dinklage	...	Vinnie
Alan Dale	...	Dr. Sanders
Jason Davis	...	Thomas Blair
Bailey Bass	...	Cammie Blair
Charlotte Bass	...	Cammie Blair
Brett Rice	...	Ad Agency Client

Storyline

An irreverent young woman who uses her humor to prevent matters from getting serious has a life-changing visit with her doctor.

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Plot Keywords:

depiction of god | afterlife | cool | mexican actor playing american character | happiness | 

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Taglines:

Life starts now.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, including crude references, and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed entirely in New Orleans.

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Goofs

When Marley is drunk riding her bike, the car that is behind her (going same direction) is the in front of her ( opposite direction)

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Quotes

Sarah Walker: [about to eat pizza] You know what I want for my birthday this year? A metabolism.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Depictions of God in Film (2014)

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Soundtracks

Two-Boned Stew
Written by Curt Sobel and Gary Schreiner
Performed by P.O.E

User Reviews

light rom-com with cancer

Marley Corbett (Kate Hudson) is a strictly-single ad executive in New Orleans. She avoids any real commitments with her hookups. Her best friends are co-worker Sarah Walker (Lucy Punch), pregnant Renee Blair (Rosemarie DeWitt) and gay neighbor Peter Cooper (Romany Malco). She feels sick and goes to see Dr. Julian Goldstein (Gael García Bernal). While under, she sees God (Whoopi Goldberg) who gives her three wishes. She wishes to fly, $1 million and something for later. She has late stage colon cancer. Her parents Beverly (Kathy Bates) and Jack (Treat Williams) can't stop fighting even with their daughter sick. She wins a radio contest to learn hang gliding. Dr. Sanders (Alan Dale) tells her that chemo isn't working and she goes on a medical trial. She finally tells her boss Rob Randolf (Steven Weber) and he tells her about a million dollar payout from the life insurance. Peter sets her up with gigolo escort Vinnie (Peter Dinklage) nicknamed Little Bit of Heaven.

Is it really a bad thing to cross a cutesy rom-com with cancer? The critics seem to think so. I don't judge it like that. This is by no means perfect. Whoopi Goldberg as God is distracting as hell. Gael García Bernal is not fully committed to being a bad English speaker. He should really throw in a lot of Spanish. Kate Hudson is at home with these silly rom-coms. Her flightiness is more of a defense mechanism so I don't really take it as cutesy. The cancer stuff allows the movie to transition to heartfelt seriousness although it's very jarring sometimes. The tone is a tricky thing in this movie and it does struggle. However I don't mind treating cancer with a lighter tone.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Earthbound

Filming Locations:

Urbania, Lower Garden District, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,011, 6 May 2012

Gross USA:

$15,375

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,778,388

Company Credits

Production Co:

Davis Entertainment, MJW Films, The Film Department

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1