Manna from Heaven (film)

2002 American film

Manna from Heaven

Movie poster

Directed by| Gabrielle Burton
Maria Burton
Written by| Gabrielle B. Burton
Produced by| Gabrielle Burton
Charity Burton
Ursula Burton
Starring| Maria Burton
Ursula Burton
Seymour Cassel
Shelley Duvall
Jill Eikenberry
Louise Fletcher
Frank Gorshin
Harry Groener
Shirley Jones
Cloris Leachman
Wendie Malick
Austin Pendleton
Cameron Watson
Cinematography| Ed Slattery
Edited by| Andy Peterson
Robert Tate
Mattie Valentine
Music by| Timothy Jones
James T. Sale

Production
company

Five Sisters Productions

Release date

* September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14)

Running time

| 119 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $505,675 (USA)

Manna from Heaven is a 2002 American religious comedy film written by Gabrielle B. Burton and co-directed by her daughters Gabrielle C. Burton and Maria Burton. The film won awards at four film festivals.[1] It was actor Jerry Orbach's final film before his death from prostate cancer in 2004 and Shelley Duvall's second to last film before her death in 2024.

## Plot

[edit]

Manna From Heaven is a comedic fable about what happens when you get a gift from God (a financial windfall), but many years later, you find out that it was a just a loan and it is due immediately.

Once upon a time, many years ago, a neighborhood in Buffalo, NY, is mysteriously showered with 20-dollar bills. Theresa, a young girl who everyone thinks is a saint, doesn't have much trouble with convincing her loose-knit "family" that the money is a gift from Heaven. Years later, Theresa, who has become a nun, has an epiphany that it is time to pay the money back, so she calls the eccentric group together to repay the "loan".

The problem is … nobody wants to give back the money, nobody has the money, they don't know to whom it belongs, and most of them cannot stand each other.

Along the way, the characters learn about family, romance, reconciliation and redemption, and by working together they begin to realize their full potential.

## Principal cast

[edit]

* Shirley Jones as Bunny
* Cloris Leachman as Helen
* Louise Fletcher as Mother Superior
* Ursula Burton as Sister Theresa
* Seymour Cassel as Stanley
* Frank Gorshin as Ed
* Austin Pendleton as "Two-Digit" Doyle
* Shelley Duvall as Detective Dubrinski
* Jerry Orbach as Waltz Contest Announcer
* Maria Burton as Ramona
* Jill Eikenberry as Dottie
* Harry Groener as Tony
* Vincent O'Neill as Monsignor Dailey
* Drew Pillsbury as Mac / Bake
* Wendie Malick as Inez
* Cameron Watson as Patrick

## Critical reception

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 22% of 23 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Wasting a comedically gifted cast on cloying material, Manna from Heaven tastes more like hogwash."[2] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[3]

Dave Kehr of The New York Times liked the film overall:

> A product neither of Hollywood nor the New York-Sundance indie axis, Manna From Heaven is a true outsider film, and while it would be easy to fault its lack of technical polish, somewhat discursive script and uneven performances, it is also refreshingly sincere, gentle and good-natured.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Manna from Heaven - IMDb". IMDb.
2. ^ "Manna From Heaven". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
3. ^ "Manna from Heaven". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
4. ^ Kehr, Dave (4 April 2003). "FILM IN REVIEW; 'Manna from Heaven'". The New York Times.

## External links

[edit]

* Manna from Heaven at IMDb

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