Down to Earth (Down to Earth (DVD))

Member Name: IanM73

Product:	Down to Earth (DVD)
Date:	21/12/07 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very funny film

Disadvantages: Some people might not like the humour

What I am reviewing is the DVD film "Down to Earth"

16:9 widescreen
Dolby digital sound
English and French languages


This is the American region 1 DVD but is almost identical to the region 2 disk.


I remember watching the 1978 film "Heaven can wait" and thought that was a good idea from a film having been remade from quite a few years ago and had a good storyline to it.
When I found out there was another remake I wasn't so sure that it would be as good.
This remake was starring Chris Rock and was going to be based around a comedy performer.
Paramount had given the film the go ahead and it was filmed in 2000-2001 and released in 2001.
The writers, directors and producers wanted to give this film a brand new lease of life and update drastically from the first two. The first step was to give the film a new title name rather than "Heaven can wait" and thought of a modern title "Down to Earth" which would be a much better working title for the 2000's.
The next was to revamp the film to make it more up to date and would seem to appeal to everybody about a normal man trying his best to be a good stand up comedian.
They wanted to give the man who they named Lance Barton a regular day job as a bike messenger to give it that realistic feel to it.
The actor who stood out for this role was Chris Rock who was excited about playing the role as it was a new look on the film and could make his own mark on it.

The other actors brought in for the role were Regina King, Mark Addy, Eugene Levy, Frankie Fason, Greg Germann, Jennifer Coolidge and Chazz Palminteri.
A lot of these had acted on quite a bit before and Eugene Levy was set to become a familiar face with the American Pie films.

Where to set the film was the next question, and instead of New York or Los Angeles it was set in Philadelphia to make the audience believe that Lance could have come from anywhere in the US and it didn't have to be the major cities most used for making a lot of films.

Once everything was sorted, the scripts, setting, actors then it was already to go ahead....



Plotline :

Struggling comedian Lance Barton gets booed off the Appollo theatre as he struggles to get his comedy act right for the people. He talks with his manager Whit Daniels about it and Whit tells him that he is a funny man and should tell it how it is with his comedy act as he is genuinely funny.
That night riding home Lance sees a girl from the audience and not looking where he is going sees a lorry coming straight towards him.
Lance is taken up to heaven where it is found out that he has been snatched away from Earth too early as he was not due to die until 2047 !
He is given a second chance at life and the opportunity to become a comedian again but in somebody elses body.


Special Feeatures :

Theatrical trailer

Interactive menus

Scene selection

Cast and crew interviews



What I thought :

When I saw this remake on the cards I wasn't sure about it but after watching it I thought that this was the best one of the three. Allthough it is only loosly based on Heaven can wait I could see some similarities.
I liked the way that the film had been given a fresh new outlook as bike messenger Lance has just a normal life and tries so hard to make his dream of being a stand up comedian come true.
I thought that Lance Barton was a believable and modern day character and the other characters around him during his life as Charles Wellington suited that story very well and fitted in with the plot.
The setting of Philadelphia was different and a nice change.

The picture was very clear and sound was Dolby digital which when the two are perfect gives a great feel to the DVD. This was also in the special features as well as the main film to make a great DVD.


With the special Features I didn't think that there was a great deal on here with the average scene selection, menus, and trailer but the inclusion of the cast and crew interviews made all the difference to this DVD as it was a very good feature with most of the cast giving their own opinions and feelings towards this film and their co-stars.


The disk had a nice printed picture on it which was from the front of the box with Lance in his suit standing on some clouds with a halo around his head !

The cover was a lot different to the UK version and in my opinion miles better. This has Lance as I have said above in the clouds, and is a good soothing light blue and white packaging. The back gives you details about the special features and just a bit about what the film is abut.

The inlay cover is nothing much and just gives you a chapter selection.



If you like good comedy films then do give this a go. I was very glad I gave this film a chance as I have seen this now quite a few times and takes pride on my shelf.
If you are a Chris Rock fan you will love this film.

Summary: Good film with decent extras