Here is a head-scratcher of a movie. I recall when this first came out, it was marketed only as a movie about a teacher who sees a strip performance from one of her students, then has an affair with him. Yes, that does indeed happen, but the movie is as much about her husband and his midlife crisis. Also thrown in for good measure is her sister's (I think it was her sister) marital troubles, some uninteresting back-story about the stripper and his friends. Also the stripper wanting to start a career in hotel management, so he can support his tired old mother who has been a waitress her whole life and is now exhausted. All of that in just over 80 minutes! Needless to say, a lot of the principal photography of this one probably hit the cutting room floor, and most of what was left dealt with the sexier ideas of the story.The movie stars capable actress Lesly Ann Warren as the teacher and Chris Atkins of Blue Lagoon fame as the sexy young stud student. Gone is his late 70s white man's afro from Blue Lagoon. In this one, he looks more like Luke Skywalker from The Empire Strikes Back. Not terribly muscular, either. Whatever. I've never completely understood why women find some men so sexy. Warren looks like a frigid librarian when in class, but of course looks beautiful when in a nice dress and out with her friends at the strip club. Her marriage is not going well... at least not total bliss. Her husband (named Whitney, no less) works at NASA, and seems conflicted from the first moment we see him. It appears now (because its the 1980) they want him to develop weapons instead of launch rockets into the far reaches of space. That evil warmonger Ronald Reagan! Oh, you mean the one during who's presidency was perhaps the most peaceful time (certainly during my lifetime) in all of human history? That Ronald Reagan? You mean the one who took down the Soviet Union WITHOUT firing a shot at them? That warmongering Ronald Reagan? Yeah.... well, never mind the facts. Anyway, Whitney isn't happy, and it certainly isn't helping their sex life. All it takes is a night at the strip club known as Heaven (get it?) and Warren and Atkins are bound to hook up.With Warren, her motivation is clear. She is a frustrated house wife who sees a chance and takes it. With Atkins, however, the motivation is not as clear. Is he doing it so she'll pass him in the speech class after originally flunking him? Maybe at first, but he really does seem smitten by later in the film. Maybe he has had so much sex with girls his age, he sees the older woman as more of a challenge. While their affair is going on, Whitney seems to have a chance to fool around too with an old friend. Whether he does is not clear, or maybe it hit the cutting room floor. The conclusion of this film is a little bit suspenseful, but ultimately logical. Just too damned abrupt. This director, the late John Avildsen, had some big hits and much bigger titles on his resume. Rocky, Karate Kid... This finished product seems beneath his talents. I'm guessing the studio is to blame. Events are so randomly thrown in, at first I didn't even think I was watching the right movie. The whole opening sequence shows some of NASA's finest hardware, and Whitney riding his bike past it on his way home from work. Until I saw Atkins and Warren's names go by in the credits, I was convinced it was not the same movie I remembered seeing commercials for in 1983. There is some decent sex in the film, I will give it that. But once it was over, about the only thing it made me do is play some old Bryan Adams music! The overall film is not very residual. 4 of 10 stars. The Hound.

the temptation to blame/minimize this film is not small. and it is the result, in general, of hypocrisy. because it is not exactly a provocative /easy film but vehicle for an interesting hypothesis. because it gives real good performances and a story who is more than pretext for hot scenes. because it is a film about marriage, temptation and the thin line between teacher and student. because it is a simple film about happiness. and, maybe, nothing more. so, a nice film , more complex than majority of its public accept.

Uptight university teacher Faye Hanlon (Lesley Ann Warren) has a husband (Robert Logan) who ignores her and she can't get through to him. One night her friends drag her to a male strip club where she sees incredibly hot Rick Monroe (Christopher Atkins) stripping--and he just happens to be a student she's failing in her class! Nonetheless he falls for HER and tries to seduce her. She tries resist him but she has trouble not giving in...This was written by a woman and what was originally (I heard) a well-written story about a woman coming to grips with her failing marriage and attraction to a younger man. Sadly it was turned into a silly pointless movie just made to show off Atkins' body. There are glimpses here and there of a good story trying to break free but they're always undermined by showing Atkins nude (no frontal shots but they come close). I don't blame Atkins for this--he was a very handsome man, had a great body and was easy on the eyes. He can't act but when you look like that who cares? I blame the studio for this. The movie looks like it was heavily edited (look at the short running time) and entire plot lines are left dangling. Worst of all is the ending.PLOT SPOILERS!!!! Atkins was left alone and nude on a boat and we don't even hear Warren and Logan discussing their marriage! I don't believe it was written that badly for one second. END PLOT SPOILERS! All that's left is an excellent performance by Warren, a great 80s soundtrack (especially "Heaven" that became a huge hit a year later), hysterically bad 80s clothes and Atkins nude scenes. I doubt we'll ever see a complete version of this film which is too bad. I can only give this a 3.

I know that in no means I'm trashing eighties movies. I grew up on eighty movies, and I have seen a lot of trash and a lot of superb films. When I think of A Night In Heaven, I think of Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, even that flunky movie Johnny Depp did with Morrow....Private Resort or something like that! I would depict this movie and dissect it with criticism, but I can't because I actually enjoyed this movie. What separates this movie from others that were in the eighties junkyard is that this actually had a convincing plot. Yes, I think Lesley Anne Warren is sexy, no I don't think Christopher Atkins is a heartthrob and I don't see what the big deal about him was, considering he is just that star that appeared with Brooke Shields in The Blue Lagoon.What I like about this movie is that it doesn't play out as your ordinary dumb film like most eighties movies. You don't see anyone you think is from Revenge Of The Nerds or Just One Of The Guys(which I must confess I liked also), there's not much stupidity, no brain cells should be damaged in the process of watching this and one of my favorite scenes is actually in the beginning with Logan on the funky bike while Bryan Adams sings the theme song...after that I figured I was in for a 80 minute treat that I consider a very underrated, tarnished, bashed movie that didn't make the grade for reasons I believe just had that quality of being toooooo eighties!!! I recommend A Night In Heaven for it's chemistry between Lesley and Christopher and for something that's not monotonous and filled with low humor and bad acting, I recommend it also for how poignant love is between this teacher and her student and by the way who said she passed him just because she made love to him?Oh and by the way you will love the ending which is another ingredient to the mix of this very, very underrated movie!!!