Watch Defending Your Life For Free
Defending Your Life
Is there love after death? After he dies suddenly, the hapless advertising executive Daniel Miller finds himself in Judgment City, a gleaming way station where the newly deceased must prove they lived a life of sufficient courage to advance in their journey through the universe. As the self-doubting Daniel struggles to make his case, a budding relationship with the uninhibited Julia offers him a chance to finally feel alive.
| Release : | 1991 |
| Rating : | 7.2 |
| Studio : | Warner Bros. Pictures, Geffen Pictures, |
| Crew : | Art Direction, Assistant Property Master, |
| Cast : | Albert Brooks Meryl Streep Rip Torn Lee Grant Michael Durrell |
| Genre : | Fantasy Comedy Romance |
Watch Trailer
Cast List
Related Movies
West of Here
The Man Who Sued God
Striptease
Ali G Indahouse
Spice World
Stormy Justice
The Lovely Bones
A Life Less Ordinary
Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens
Reviews
the audience applauded
Fresh and Exciting
A Masterpiece!
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Defending Your Life offers a very unique outlook on the afterlife. I'd never heard of this film before, but I was quite impressed. It is a little dated in fashion, technology and humor, but it still will make you smile - and make you think. I don't know why this movie didn't get more publicity.
What a terrific little gem of a comedy. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have access to all the HBO channels, a benefit of being an only child I suppose. This film would play on HBO Comedy frequently enough for me to fall in love with it. As I grew older and more mature, I began to truly understand the jokes that are spread throughout it and how fear of getting hurt leads up to live a careful life, a life that doesn't achieve its full potential. This theme is layered throughout hilarious clips that are used to review the life of our protagonist, Daniel. Meryl Streep doesn't have much to work with in this, to be honest, but she still manages to shine in a rather simple role. "Did I mention that you can eat ALL you want?"
A romantic comedy blended with satire and riffing on the afterlife, movies like "Defending Your Life" just don't come along everyday. At least not one that's packaged this well. The material herein isn't a lot different from the rest of Albert Brooks' filmography, but the edges are softer, and it makes for a very likable romance (seriously, Brooks is staging Meryl Streep at maximum radiance here). It's hard to believe something so inoffensive actually has a message, but it's a substantial one. Hell, even a universal one.This doesn't mean that it's all about saying something; not at all. It's just that the tone and the seize-the-day message are working in harmony. You're not being taught anything here, but the whole thing goes down like a shot of whimsy.It's a great movie.8/10
This is a favorite of mine because you could watch it as a pure light rom-com, but it is conceptually very intriguing and cleverly done. The idea of Judgement is about as deep as it gets, but the gimmicks involving the food, the Little Brain vs Big Brain thing, or the Past Lives Pavilion keep it fun. Albert Brooks and Rip Torn are fantastic, and the if Meryl Streep was never more adorable, The themes of fear and how we perceive life and death are ever present and cause one to wonder: Meryl or Albert, which is closer to you? The cameo by Shirley McClain is classic! Albert Brooks' writing is funny, poignant, and intelligent. I really like a movie that can both entertain and provoke, and that is what makes this a favorite of mine. It is neither the funniest or most provocative, but a blend it successfully achieves as well as any movie I can think of.
