Celestial beings have featured in some memorable movies and TV series through the decades, from It’s a Wonderful Life and Heaven Can Wait through to City of Angels and Touched by an Angel.
It’s safe to say none was lumbered with a heavenly creature as dumb – literally – and uninspiring as the central character in this turgid comedy perpetrated by writer-director Tom O’Loughlin. Played by Emmanuelle Béart, the nameless angel is gorgeous until she opens her mouth: her sole dialogue until towards the end is a high-pitched squeal. She has feathered wings and feathers for brains.
One wing is broken when she plummets to Earth after colliding with a satellite, conveniently landing in the swimming pool of untalented musician/composer Jim (Michael E. Knight, instantly forgettable). This happens right after his engagement party ends in a chaos after his three bubble-headed pals kidnap him.
Thereafter Jim tries desperately to make amends with his enraged fiancée Patty (Phoebe Cates) while protecting Angel from his so-called mates, who are keen to exploit her for financial gain, and from his prospective father-in-law (David Dukes, terrible) who sees the marketing possibilities in using a heavenly creature to save his struggling cosmetics company. All this while Jim tries valiantly to resist Angel’s charms, notwithstanding her limited vocabulary and vacant personality. When O’Loughlin runs out of ideas for dialogue, which is often, he cuts to sappy pop songs to underscore the idiotic events.
The premise is stupid and the execution is execrable. I counted just one decent gag: a pot-smoking Roman Catholic shoos Jim and Angel away, advising, 'Try the Baptists."
One can only wonder why Madman Entertainment bothered to release this 1987 dud. I felt most sorry for Phoebe Cates, an accomplished actress who’s done a lot of fine work before and after this debacle. Maybe the script didn’t reveal she had to spend most of the movie shouting, crying and confecting a drunken rage.
As for Ms Béart, who was a hot talent at the time after starring in Manon des sources, she must have prayed this effort would disappear from her resume.
