On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 84 reviews, with an average of 7.7/10 as of 10 October 2021. The website's critics consensus reads: "Some Kind of Heaven could have gone deeper into its subject, but it remains a breezily entertaining look at some interesting people."
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Originally Posted by zendog3
Some Kind of Heaven is a documentary set in The Villages. To explain why we will not like it, compare it to the promotional videos narrated by Jennifer Parr. The promotional pieces show only happy, active seniors enjoying all the sports and entertainment the Villages has to offer. The Villages is almost heaven in these pieces, and the villagers are nearly angels.
As a writer, I understand that good stories require real and compelling characters in conflict trying to achieve some goal. So, Some Kind of Heaven shows golf carts, dancing at the square, pickleball in the sun – all the best features of The Villages. Still, it also offers real people dealing with the severe personal problems that confront people anywhere trying to navigate their way through life.
We may not like Some Kind of Heaven, not because we are ignorant of the personal struggles of some of our neighbors, but because we want our children, and even ourselves, to believe that we live in an Eden where bad things don’t happen to good people.
The documentary is not balanced news. How many men come to the villages living in a van looking for a wealthy, beautiful widow to take care of them? But it is a good story, well told. Unfortunately, that may not be the story people living in some kind of heaven want to hear.
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