This oddly wistful movie tells the tale of an angel who falls in love with a beautiful doctor.  Nicholas Cage plays the angel known as Seth, who like all the other angels cannot feel, touch or taste.  He and his partner angel (played by the excellent Andre Braugher of Homicide who is wasted in this small role) comfort those in distress and escort the dying to Heaven.  However, Seth longs to experience the pleasures of being human.  Meg Ryan (looking as cute as usual) plays a heart surgeon, Maggie, who inexplicably falls in love with Seth though he appears to be either deranged, homeless or both.

    Seth makes himself visible to Maggie after he falls in love with her and he also befriends Nathaniel Messinger (Dennis Franz - acting way too jolly), her patient and a fallen angel.  Seth struggles with what path he should take, for like humans, the premise is that angels also have free will.  This movie almost works but somewhere along the way falls down - it's overly sentimental and trite and the the great love these two feel for each other seems forced.  The movie does have a surprise ending - though frankly, it just made me dislike the movie even more.  Being surprised (and I was) didn't do it for me - and usually,  a plot turn I don't anticipate does.

    You'll be happy to learn that angels like to live in public libraries, gather on the beach at sunset and sundown, travel at the speed of thought and like to hang out on top of highway signs (It almost sounds like they are the homeless!)  So stay grounded audiences - the angels in this movie aren't worth a trip to the theater.