ElMaruecan82
"Heart and Souls" doesn't lie about its content: it has a heart, full of the sweetest and deepest forms of love, and it's about souls, four to be precise. Indeed, labeling this sparkling quartet from the 50's as ghosts would've been wrong. And except during some transitional moments where they have that ghostly 'quality', during the rest of the film, they're always seen with the hero, played by Robert Downey Jr.Maybe I'm going too fast, but I know anyone reading this review has already seen this film, and know what the plot is about. Four ill-fated persons who, in 1959, died in a bus accident at the same moment a boy was born, which made them entwined to him for an indefinite period of time. Charles Grodin is Harrison, a wannabe-singer whose stage fright caused him to leave the audition before even uttering a word. Alfre Woodward is Penny, single mother and night worker. Tom Sizemore is Milo, a two-bit thief failing to take stamp-collections, with high sentimental value, back from his contractor. Finally, Kyra Sedgwick is Julia, a pretty waitress who let the love of her life whose incapability to make up her mind caused her proposing lover to leave the restaurant.Visibly, they all took the same bus at the wrong moment, Harrison would have missed the bus had he tried to sing and Julia would have probably gone with her soon-to-be husband if she said yes while trying to get back to him caused her demise. As for Milo, the last thing he heard was "you stink" from the young collection's own. Penny only got loving hugs from her kids … which is only fair, since she's the only one who would have probably died anyway. But there's something particularly efficient yet simple in Ron Underwood's movie, it's the way these characters are carefully and subtly exposed, granted the subplots aren't revolutionary, at least when the accident happens, we know about their history, who they are, and their death is even sadder because it comes before their lives would come full circle.But that's what death is, it's as blind and untimely as love. But this is not a film to make you just cry, in one of these Capraesque strikes of fate, they are not sucked up to the sky, like the driver (David Paymer) whose naughty eyes rhymed with collective demise, instead, the four 'souls' join the newborn Thomas, born in a car nearby and this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. One must wonder how come they don't think about their former lives, but we meet them again when Thomas is still a baby, so they had time to resign to their fates, and at least, they had a cute little boy as company. Except that it doesn't turn well for the boy, he looks like an autistic kid with four imaginary friends, going at the races for Milo (why would a ghost need money anyway) or dancing in the toilet with his friends.Yes, that part of the film asks a few disturbing questions. Wouldn't they adults be aware that this attitude would cause the kid's trouble? And to make it worse, I'm not sure they took the right approach anyway when they left him. You know, you remember movies for a particular scene, well, imagine if Dorothy's friends let her alone in the forest, how traumatic it would've been. And the four souls leave the poor boy alone, forever… I understand it was to protect him, but they could have handled it more tactfully, I imagine how hard it would've been for poor Thomas to lose the friends who've always been there for years and years. This is quite a heart-wrenching scene, difficult to watch, but as Milo said "life is tough" … thankfully, it cuts immediately to a young sun-glasses wearing Thomas, played by Robert Downey Jr.The contrast is extraordinary, we understand the boy has grown more cynical and disillusioned and the 'ghost' episode has probably something to do with him.Yet the four friends never left Thomas, followed him everywhere, they still act the same, and I wonder where were they when Thomas discovered sex, whether manual or mutual … well, I don't want to know. The film is meant like a fairy-tale and such considerations are needless, otherwise, why wouldn't they be a real criminal among the four, even Milo is more of 'Disney' bad bot. Later they learn they all have an unfinished job, and have to make up for their past mistakes. But it's too late when they're finally explained why they were kept on Earth. Anyway, the bus driver, who's got one hell of a debt toward them, give them one day to finish their business. No they have one day to convince Thomas to help them, talk about short time … this is where the story picks up, and Downey Jr. blooms on the screen.He proves to have a real talent of mimicry when the ghosts take possession of is body, which will help them to accomplish their deeds. Whether mimicking the macho, the singer, the seductive girl and the mother who won't take any attitude, Downey is priceless and elevates the film to a comedic level that makes us forget its sadness. The whole film is an emotional switch between laughs and tears, it's one 'you'll laugh, you'll cry' moments but handled so tactfully, without any over ambitions that when the last soul leaves the world, with a sympathetic twist at the end, you know you've spent a nice moment and all you want is to be with those you love and tell them you love them. It's as sympathetic as the sight of five people playing "Walk like a Man" on the street.It isn't "Ghost" but it humbly manages to find its own feel-good tone, one criticism though is that the film should've be called "Hearts and Souls"
