In Heaven You Wear High Shoes - Blu-ray

Movie: Since childhood, Jess (Drew Barrymore) and Milly (Toni Collette) have been best friends. They just share everything and go through thick and thin together. But then their friendship is put to the test when career woman Milly learns she has breast cancer. Of course, her husband Kit (Dominic Cooper) and their children stand by Milly during these difficult times. Still, she needs one thing above all else right now: Jess! With her positive, down-to-earth nature and unwavering sense of humor, she is now Milly's rock. But Jess and her boyfriend Jago (Paddy Considine) also have lives of their own as they try to fulfill their dream of having a child together. Being a self-sacrificing friend while trying to fulfill her dream of having a little family of her own is sometimes just too much, even for Jess. And that has serious consequences for what should be an unshakeable friendship between the two girlfriends.

With In Heaven You Wear High Shoes, director Catherine Hardwicke is clearly moving away from the Twilight world, which gave her her biggest commercial success to date in 2008, and in which she also moved with the weak Little Red Riding Hood variant. Now she presents a relatively adult chick flick whose trailer suggested a collection of awful clichés and unspeakable kitsch. But thankfully, that impression doesn't do the drama justice. Because Im Himmel trägt man hoher Schuhe is clearly better than this short preview or the stupid German title would lead you to fear. The fact that the story works well for long stretches is not only due to the good chemistry between Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette, who both deliver performances well suited to their role types. The acting of the two Golden Globe winners offers no real surprises, but works really well in its own way.

What is surprising, however, is the way Hardwicke portrays the two men alongside her main characters. Kit and Iago are very interesting and multi-layered characters who are given enough room to fully develop in some really wonderful little scenes. So, thankfully, these supporting characters don't degenerate into the stereotypes so readily attempted in films of this genre. Surely, Hardwicke could have done more here without pushing the two women into the background. But even if the full potential was not used from the good dynamic between the characters, it still contributes even in the reduced form significantly to the fact that this film works despite many clichés and in places even seems really authentic.

The progression of the story up to the inevitable hanky panky ending is, of course, extremely predictable. Anyone who doesn't know how it's going to end by the opening credits has probably never seen a movie of this genre before. Moreover, the ending is laid on pretty thick to make sure no one leaves the movie with dry eyes. It's highly manipulative and extremely cheesy. And yet, it works really well for the target audience. Catherine Hardwicke has directed a truly beautiful chick flick that best friends can watch together to laugh and cry - and maybe even recognize each other here and there. This is no great art cinema, no work for eternity. But for a nice evening among girlfriends it is enough and for that there is a deserved: Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: There is nothing to criticize about the technical realization. The sometimes somewhat artificial, very warm color scheme, which gives the film its very special atmosphere, as well as the good detail sharpness ensure that the visual realization leaves an all-around positive impression. Not unusual for a small drama like this, the audio is rather restrained overall. Big surround moments shouldn't be expected. The dialogue and soundtrack are well-matched, however, so there's a satisfying good here as well.

Extras: The Blu-ray has just under 40 minutes of extras to offer. In addition to some interviews with cast members Toni Collette (approx. 4 min.), Dominic Cooper (approx. 2:49 min.), Drew Barrymore (approx. 4:46 min.) and Paddy Considine (approx. 4:56 min.), as well as director Catherine Hardwicke (approx. 4:59 min.), there are also five deleted scenes (approx. 12:22 min.), the trailer and a collage of scenes with Milly and Jess (approx. 4:25 min.). The other extras on the US disc such as the audio commentary or the making of unfortunately didn't make it to Germany.

Conclusion: Im Himmel trägt man hoher Schuhe is a charming chick flick that sometimes makes you laugh and sometimes makes you cry, but always entertains well. Well-written dialogue and sympathetically drawn characters comfort over many a cliché. The Blu-ray presents the film in good picture and sound quality. In addition, the disc offers just under 40 minutes of extras. All in all, a clear case of: Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp