'HEAVEN' SENT AS FINE ROMANCE.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

PART ``ODD COUPLE,'' part ``Topper'' with a dash of ``Sleeping Beauty'' thrown in for women who have never stopped waiting for Prince Charming, ``Just Like Heaven'' is an uneven but mostly enjoyable romantic fantasy that benefits greatly from the considerable charms of leads Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. Without them, ``Heaven'' wouldn't have a ghost of a chance.

But then you've also got to hand it to director Mark Waters (``Freaky Friday,'' ``Mean Girls''): His movie's logic would short-circuit a computer, and just about every scene of broad comedy falls flat, but Waters does make you care about the film's two scrambled old souls in such a way that you're willing to suspend disbelief and wade through the film's thick soup of glop to get to the inevitable happy ending. And once there, you'll raise your moistened Kleenex in tribute.

The movie's opening segment asks the question: How do you solve a problem like Elizabeth? A perky overachiever who happily works 26-hour ER shifts, healing patients and fending off marriage proposals, Elizabeth (Witherspoon) makes for a great doctor but an unbalanced human being. She never gets a crack at love, though, because on her way to a blind date set up by her frazzled sister (Dina Waters), Lizzy instead meets the windshield of an 18-wheeler - head-on.

Three months later, Elizabeth's dreamy San Francisco apartment is being sublet (on a month-to-month basis) to the tortured David (Ruffalo), who doesn't care about the pad's sweeping North Beach views. All he wants is a comfortable couch, a working refrigerator to keep his beer cold and a place to be left alone. Very alone.

Imagine his chagrin then, when Elizabeth materializes out of nowhere and starts berating him for not using a coaster. And for being a slob. At first, David believes this ``little blond control freak'' is a figment of his alcohol-fueled imagination. (David is the only one who can see Elizabeth, and Elizabeth is only able to communicate with David.) Soon enough, of course, he discovers there's a purpose for his presence that goes beyond saving a cute ghost from her cleanliness fetish.

As scripted by Peter Tolan (``Analyze This'') and Leslie Dixon (``Freaky Friday''), Elizabeth and David make much better friends than foils. When the film's early slapstick gives way to an interesting second-act twist, ``Just Like Heaven'' shifts into gear and becomes a winningly sentimental romance. The complication blocking their love is a doozy and, if it's not always exactly credible, it is effective in hurtling the action forward to a satisfying conclusion.

A final note: ``Just Like Heaven'' features Jon Heder in his first movie since starring in ``Napoleon Dynamite.'' Playing a slow-talking dude who works in an occult bookstore and has surprising insight into Elizabeth's condition, Heder isn't that far removed from Mr. Dynamite, but he nails every scene and delivers the movie's biggest and best laughs. His work here suggests he's no one-hit wonder.

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com

JUST LIKE HEAVEN - Three stars

(PG-13: some sexual content)

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo.

Director: Mark Waters.

Running time: 1 hr. 35 min.

Playing: In wide release.

In a nutshell: Lonely guy helps perky spirit achieve wholeness in a gloppy but winning romance.