Hollywood’s Idea of Heaven

The Talking Heads once sang that “heaven is a place … where nothing ever happens.” (The track, naturally, is titled “Heaven.”)

Hollywood, however, has a very different take on heaven. Good thing, too, because with all due respect to David Byrne and company, “nothing” wouldn’t exactly make for interesting cinema or television.

It’s funny, but with a refreshing moral center.

TV shows and movies have long been interested in depicting various interpretations of heaven — albeit not as regularly as they’ve depicted hell, which obviously provides juicier material for drama.

Which is also why, when Hollywood does put heaven (or an afterlife concept similar to heaven) onscreen, it’s virtually never as simple as a truly flawless paradise, a utopia of everlasting reward. That creates no conflict, and there’s one golden rule for drama: It requires conflict.

NBC’s new comedy, “The Good Place,” is explicitly inspired by the idea of an everlasting afterlife reward for those who chose to be virtuous and selfless. But owing to the rules of drama — and after all, comedy is just a form of drama, the funny form — something goes hilariously wrong in the process.

While heaven gets plenty of play on the big screen, it’s extremely rare for a television series to focus on the concept. “The Good Place,” which airs on Thursdays, is practically unprecedented in this regard.

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TV hasn’t lacked for angels doing good works on earth, and some series (such as “Touched by an Angel” and “Highway to Heaven”) have been highly successful with that model. But actually setting an ongoing series in the afterlife is new wrinkle altogether.

Created by Michael Schur, a writer on “The Office” and co-creator of “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “The Good Place” mines its comedic conflict from an administrative error: Recently deceased Eleanor (Kristen Bell) gained entry to this version of heaven by mistake.

Eleanor’s selfish, unscrupulous life on earth — her job was literally scamming old, sick people — should have placed her squarely in the “bad place,” but she ended up in heaven regardless. And her presence there is making heaven go to hell.

It’s funny with a refreshing moral center, featuring a great lead performance by Bell and a never-better Ted Danson. Those looking for a more traditional take on the Christian concept of heaven (or any related concept) won’t find it here: The show pointedly removes religion from the equation right from the start.

That’s an area where “The Good Place” largely hews to Hollywood tradition. Outside of movies directed specifically to the faith-based market, depictions of heaven in entertainment tend to be irreverent at best.

Here’s how a few films (and one TV show) have taken on the idea:

“What Dreams May Come” (film, 1998)
This Robin Williams star vehicle isn’t quite the disaster its reputation suggests — while it didn’t make its money back at the box office, it did okay, and it attracted as many positive reviews as negative ones. But some critics really hated it, such as Leonard Maltin, who gave it a “BOMB” (his lowest rating).

Based on a 1978 novel by acclaimed horror/sci-fi author Richard Matheson, “What Dreams May Come” follows Williams’ character as he journeys from heaven to hell in hopes of rescuing his wife, who committed suicide. Director Vincent Ward creates a majestic, stunning heaven based on classic paintings (along with a truly terrifying hell), and the film did win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

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“Heaven Is for Real” (film, 2014)
A more reverent take on the concept of the Christian heaven, this film, which based on a bestselling 2010 book, divided critics but became a box-office hit. The book’s subtitle works perfectly as an elevator pitch for the movie: “A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back.”

Four-year-old Colton’s recounting of visiting heaven during a near-death experience has all the hallmarks of how a preschooler might describe visiting heaven — complete with Jesus, angels, and a rainbow-hued horse.

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“This Is the End” (film, 2013)
Filmmaking doesn’t get much more irreverent than in movies by Seth Rogen and his creative partner Evan Goldberg (“Superbad,” “The Interview”), and this doomsday dark comedy is no exception. True to its title, the film takes us all the way from an actual Rapture to a peek inside the pearly gates themselves.

When Rogen and Jay Baruchel (playing fictionalized versions of themselves) join their buddy Craig Robinson in the afterlife, heaven looks mostly like the usual idealized “fluffy cloud” version — but with the addition of the Backstreet Boys, who perform “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” while our protagonists smoke weed (yes, really) and dance.

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“Supernatural” (TV series, 2005–present)
This incredibly long-running fantasy/adventure series (241 episodes and counting) is jam-packed with demons and ghosts, so it’s no surprise that heaven has made a few appearances.

In fact, the heaven of “Supernatural” has such a complex structure and has undergone such a variety of changes over the seasons, it’s nearly impossible to briefly summarize. But we can note that it has a garden, a prison, administrative offices, an infinite number of “personal heavens,” and even a weapons repository.

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“Defending Your Life” (film, 1991)
Written and directed by (and starring) Albert Brooks, it’s one of the best comedies ever — seriously, if you haven’t seen it already, just stop everything and watch it now (it’s on Netflix).

It’s also a bit of a cheat for this article, because instead of heaven, it depicts a way station where recently deceased Daniel (Brooks) must defend his life on earth in order to move on to the next plane of existence.

Also starring a never-lovelier Meryl Streep and an uproarious turn by Rip Torn, the film is a clear influence on “The Good Place” and stands as Brooks’ most resonant creative endeavor — while also being hilarious.

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