Robert N. Benjamin Movies

A couple who live on different sides of the divide of life and death discover just how many boundaries love can cross in this romantic comic fantasy. Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon) is a hardworking and dedicated medical resident who, after 20 hours on duty, is heading home when she falls asleep at the wheel of her car and is involved in a fatal auto accident. Several weeks later, a man named David (Mark Ruffalo) takes over the lease on Elizabeth's apartment, but he discovers that she hasn't quite vacated the building. Elizabeth's body may be dead, but her spirit is still quite lively, and her ghost is insisting that the apartment is still hers...and that she wants him to move out. David brings in Darryl (Jon Heder), an eccentric man who claims to have psychic powers, to help sweep Elizabeth's spirit out of the apartment, but she refuses to budge, certain that she can't be completely dead, despite all evidence to the contrary. As Elizabeth and David try to share the flat, they discover that their differences aren't as great as they once imagined, and they become attracted to one another. But will Elizabeth's spirit stay in the land of the living long enough for their romance to go somewhere? Just Like Heaven marked Jon Heder's first feature film role after his breakthrough appearance in the independent hit Napoleon Dynamite. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An aspiring astronaut who was forced to forsake his dream of exploring space in order to save the family farm begins building his own personal rocket as a means of reaching the stars in this quirky rural drama starring Billy Bob Thornton. There once was a time when Charlie Farmer (Thornton) seemed like a shoo-in for NASA's esteemed astronaut training program. An Air Force pilot who held a degree in aerospace engineering, Charlie was well on his way to blasting off when a family crisis grounded his celestial aspirations. Of course, Charlie's feet may be firmly planted on terra firma these days, but his thoughts are constantly ascending into the clouds and beyond. It's been ten long years since the man who would navigate the stars began tending to the family farm, and during that time, Charlie has dedicated every moment of his spare time to building the rocket that will one day launch him into space. Though his devoted wife, Audie (Virginia Madsen), the pair's three children, Sunshine, Stanley, and Shepard, and even his father-in-law, Hal (Bruce Dern), all support Charlie in achieving his lifelong goal of becoming the nation's first independent astronaut, a last-minute hitch on the eve before the big launch unexpectedly stalls Charlie's countdown. It seems that Charlie's quest to obtain a substantial amount of high-grade rocket fuel has attracted the attention of not only the FBI, but the CIA, the FAA, and the United States military as well. Now, as the powers that be attempt to ground Charlie, citing concerns for civilian safety, a media frenzy descends upon the once-quiet farm as the reluctant renegade hero vows to show his children just how far one's courage and willingness to pursue one's own ideals can get a person when one refuses to give up hope. Northfork writing/directing duo Mark and Michael Polish team up to tell the tale of a man considered an oddity by his neighbors, a criminal by the government, and an inspiration by the media and the people. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Perhaps the most thorough (and least hokey) of the many TV Three Stooges retrospectives, this NBC special not only concentrates on the most popular members of the comic trio -- Jerry "Curly" Howard, Moe Howard, and Larry Fine -- but also provides generous and laudatory screen time to Curly's successors, Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, and Curly Joe DeRita. As the title indicates, the special covers the years from the Stooges' apprenticeship with comedian Ted Healy, their 25-year tenure with the Columbia Pictures short-subject department, their spectacular comeback in the late '50s thanks to TV exposure of their old films, and their "first love," performing before live audiences all over the world. The film clips shown herein are in pristine condition, and many have not been shown publicly for decades, notably the Stooges' guest appearance on the 1955 syndicated TV series The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre and Jack Linkletter's interview with Moe Howard and his family on a 1960 episode of the CBS early-morning program On the Go. Also included are interviews with such dyed-in-the-wool Stooge fans as the Farrelly brothers, Saturday Night Live's Tracy Morgan, and Michael Chiklis, who played Curly Howard in 2000 TV biopic. Narrated by Woody Harrelson, The Three Stooges' 75 Anniversary Special was originally slated to air in November 2002, but for obscure reasons was withheld from view for nearly six months; rest assured, however, that it was well worth waiting for. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide