Stars: Chris Rock, Regina King, Chazz Palminteri, Eugene Levy, Frankie R. Faison, Mark Addy, Greg Germann, Jennifer Coolidge

Director: Paul Weitz

Summary: The story of Lance Burton, a comedian, who unfortunately dies in a bus accident. When he arrives in heaven he learns that he was not supposed to die for another fifty years, so he is ordered back to earth and given the body of a middle-aged man...

Comedian Chris Rock updates 1978's HEAVEN CAN WAIT with a decidedly modern flair in this romantic comedy. Lance Barton (Rock) is a struggling comedian whose dream is to perform at New York City's legendary Apollo Theater before it closes its doors forever. One night, while riding his bike, Lance is crushed by an enormous truck. Before he can come to terms with what has happened, he is strolling through Heaven, talking to the smooth Mr. King (Chazz Palminteri) and the bumbling Keyes (Eugene Levy), the angel who prematurely snatched Lance away from Earth. Mr. King agrees to make up for this mistake by returning Lance to New York, only instead of being a black bike messenger, Lance is now Mr. Wellington, a powerful white businessman who just so happens to be the enemy of Sontee (Regina King), the woman he has become infatuated with. Wooing Sontee with a new commitment to using Mr. Wellington's money philanthropically, Lance embarks on a mission to perform at the Apollo, even if he doesn't seem to fit the mold. But just when everything begins to fall into place, Mr. King returns to throw another glitch into Lance's plans. Coasting along on the charm of Rock and King, DOWN TO EARTH is a charming story about the power of fate, set to a bouncing hip-hop soundtrack.

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Down to Earth, a tepid reworking of Warren Beatty's Heaven Can Wait(itself a remake of 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan), tries to mould comedian Chris Rock into an amiable romantic lead, but it softens the scathingly observant humour that made Rock a stand-up successor to Richard Pryor. Rock's aggressive style is bracingly expressed in a few good scenes, but through most of this movie--from the directors of American Pie--he struggles with dialogue that would barely pass muster in a low-rated sitcom. Edgy potential loses out to crowd-pleasing with the familiar body-switch formula: by way of premature death and bad timing on the part of heaven's Vegas-styled gatekeepers (played by Eugene Levy and Chazz Palminteri), Rock--as struggling comedian Lance Barton--is reincarnated as a 55-year-old white billionaire with a nasty reputation.

Adjusting (too easily) to his racial transition, Lance charms a hospital administrator (Regina King) who's amazed to see the selfish white billionaire turning into romantic philanthropist. This allows plenty of black/white-contrast jokes (did you ever see a fat, middle-aged white guy who's into hip-hop?), and Rock, who co-wrote the screenplay, still manages to work some pointed politics into the movie's good-natured tone. It's guaranteed that some will find Down to Earthquite entertaining, but others will wonder how potent this comedy could have been if Rock had been more willing to confront the harsher truths that lurk beneath the comedy.--Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	1.78 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Theatrical Trailer, Down To Earth A Look Inside
Subtitles:	English
Year:	2001
Release Date:	December 24, 2001
Runtime:	84 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	P H E 8102
Keywords:	Earth, Comedy, General, Down, Wide, Screen, Romantic, Drama
Genre:	Drama