Okay, fellow travelers through time and tape, let's rewind to a corner of the video store often reserved for those slightly whimsical, perhaps slightly head-scratching fantasy-romances that dotted the 80s landscape. Remember stumbling across a cover, maybe tucked between the latest action hero romp and a teen comedy, featuring a beautiful woman with enormous white wings? That ethereal image belonged to 1987's Date with an Angel, a film with a premise so pure, so utterly strange, it felt beamed in from another dimension – or maybe just dropped into a swimming pool.
When Heaven Took a Dip
The setup is charmingly absurd: Jim Sanders (Michael Knight, perhaps best known from Knight Rider fame, though this Jim drives a less chatty vehicle) is a nice-guy executive about to marry the boss's spoiled daughter, Patty (Phoebe Cates, delightfully bratty here and miles away from her Fast Times at Ridgemont High cool). On the night of his bachelor party, amidst general chaos instigated by his goofy friends (including a young David Dukes), something extraordinary happens. An angel (Emmanuelle Béart), complete with magnificent wings, collides with an orbiting satellite (yes, really) and crash-lands, injured, right into Jim’s kidney-shaped pool. What follows is a whirlwind of trying to hide a celestial being, nursing her back to health (apparently angels heal fast but love junk food), falling for her otherworldly innocence, and fending off both a jealous fiancée and Jim's buddies who see dollar signs instead of divinity.
Writer-director Tom McLoughlin pulled off quite the genre hop here. Just the year before, he’d revitalized a certain hockey-masked slasher with the clever and meta Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986). Trading Crystal Lake for chlorinated pools and machetes for feathered wings was certainly a choice! You can feel McLoughlin aiming for a sweet, Capra-esque fantasy vibe, mixing slapstick humor with moments of genuine wonder. It doesn't always perfectly gel, sometimes leaning a bit too heavily on the wacky antics of Jim's friends, but the core concept remains undeniably intriguing.
An Angelic Presence (and 80s Practicality)
The film really hinges on the casting of the Angel, and French actress Emmanuelle Béart is simply luminous. Reportedly learning English specifically for this, her first American film, she conveys so much with very little dialogue, relying on expressive eyes and an almost childlike curiosity about the mortal world. Her scenes discovering earthly pleasures like French fries or reacting to television are genuinely endearing. She looks the part, radiating an otherworldly quality that sells the fantastical premise. And those wings! In an era before seamless CGI, the practical effects used to bring the Angel's wings to life are quite impressive for their time. Sure, you can sometimes spot the mechanics if you squint, but there's a tangible quality to them – reportedly involving complex harnesses and puppetry – that feels appropriately grounded within the film's slightly goofy reality. You have to admire the effort involved in making those scenes work back in '87.
Opposite Béart, Michael Knight plays the quintessential flustered nice guy, caught between his impending marriage and an unexpected celestial houseguest. He’s relatable enough, even if the character feels a little reactive. And Phoebe Cates? She dives headfirst into the role of the shrewish, suspicious Patty. It’s fun seeing her play against the sweeter types she often embodied, even if Patty veers into caricature territory. It’s a classic 80s rom-com setup – the ‘wrong’ partner versus the magical ‘right’ one.
Retro Fun Facts & Box Office Blues
Shot primarily on location in North Carolina, Date with an Angel carried a decent budget for the time, reported around $8 million. Unfortunately, audiences didn't quite flock to this heavenly encounter; it brought in just under $2 million at the US box office. Perhaps the blend of fantasy, romance, and slapstick was a tougher sell than expected, or maybe it just got lost in the shuffle of other big 1987 releases. This lack of initial splash might be exactly why it holds such a specific nostalgic appeal for those who did discover it on VHS – it feels like a slightly hidden treasure, an earnest oddity from another time. Interestingly, McLoughlin mentioned finding inspiration in classic screwball comedies and fantasy films, aiming for something lighthearted and magical after his foray into horror.
A Sweet Slice of 80s Fantasy Fluff
Does Date with an Angel hold up as a masterpiece? Probably not. The plot logic occasionally takes flight (pun intended), and the humor can feel broad. But there's an undeniable sweetness and sincerity to it. It wears its heart on its feathered sleeve. Watching it now evokes that specific feeling of 80s fantasy cinema – optimistic, a little naive, and completely committed to its charmingly outlandish premise. It doesn’t aspire to deep theological debate; it just wants to tell a simple story about kindness, love, and what happens when the extraordinary crashes into the ordinary. It's the kind of movie that might have played endlessly on cable on a Saturday afternoon, catching your attention with its unique visuals and gentle spirit.
Rating: 6/10
This score reflects the film's undeniable charm, Emmanuelle Béart's captivating performance, and its status as a memorable piece of 80s fantasy whimsy. It's docked points for uneven tone, sometimes goofy plotting, and not quite reaching the classic status it seems to aim for. However, the warmth and earnestness earn it genuine affection. It's flawed, yes, but endearingly so.
For those of us who remember pulling this tape off the rental shelf, Date with an Angel remains a sweet, slightly strange, but ultimately comforting flight of fancy – a reminder that sometimes, the most unexpected encounters are waiting right in your own backyard... or swimming pool.