A comedy in which any number of benevolent and/or supernatural beings -- usually angels, spirits of loved ones, or other emissaries of God's otherworldly kingdom -- make contact or act as a guardian to an earthling. It can also involve someone who dies and is sent back to earth to gain admission to heaven or to prove themselves worthy of another chance at life. The subgenre was popularized in the '30s and '40s, as audiences dealing with the Great Depression and World War II found refuge in lighthearted comedies dealing with second chances, guardian angels, and cinematic proof-positive that heaven was a large clouded domain representing a better (after)life. The reassuring comedy of Angel On My Shoulder, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, It's A Wonderful Life and England's A Matter Of Life And Death is a quaint look at what lies beyond this mortal coil, as is both the variations of the subgenre (Lubitsch's Heaven Can Wait, in which Don Ameche tells his life story to the Devil) and the later additions to it (Beatty's Heaven Can Wait as well as Defending Your Life and Beetlejuice.
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