Defending Your Life | | Cast : | Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn | | Director : | Albert Brooks | | Studio : | Warner Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen | | Released Date : | March 22, 1991 | | DVD Released Date : | June 07, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 23, 2005 | | Summary | Make sure you have a good attorney! | Content
 | Albert Brooks is one of the most talented writers and actors around. I have been a fan of his for years and I believe this movie is a perfect example of his comedic genius. It's terrific!
Brooks plays the part of Daniel Miller, a young professional with everything to live for, who is suddenly killed in a senseless accident. He then finds himself arriving in Judgement City where he is expected to defend his life, or rather, the manner in which he has lived it. Only then will the "powers that be" decide if he is ready to move on to the next level or if he will have to return to life on earth to give it another try. Daniel is surprised to learn that the things he will be judged on are much different than he expected!
Albert Brooks has a very neurotic, self-deprecating sense of humor and he is wonderful in this movie! Meryl Streep is lovely as Julia, the woman that Daniel becomes involved with during the course of his "trial." The contrast between her experience in Judgement City and Daniel's makes for some of the funnier moments of the movie. And while Brooks is definitely the star of this show, Rip Torn steals more than his fair share of laughs in his role as Daniel's defense attorney.
This is an unforgettable comedy whose basic message is that life is full of risks and sometimes we have to overcome our fears and make a few giant leaps if we want to be happy. Do yourself a favor and watch it soon! |
| Rating | | | Date | January 27, 2005 | | Summary | Excellent! | Content
| This extremely entertaining film focuses on Albert Brooks as a man who dies in an accident and ends of in a stop-off point between Earth and Heaven. It turns out that when you die, your life is reviewed and if you merit it, you proceed to Heaven otherwise you are sent back to Earth to live your life again. The problem with Brooks is that he has been sent back so much that this is his last chance or he will be reduced to nothingness.
Defending Brooks' life is his lawyer played brilliantly by Rip Torn against the vicious prosecutor (Lee Grant). While in a restuarant on the first night Brooks meets Meryl Streep who is also there for the same purpose.
While Brooks' life was plagued with cowardice and failure, Streep was a valiant person that cared deeply for others. We can't figure out what Streep's attraction is for such a loser like Brooks but as their time together progresses, some of Streep's raw nerve start to rub off on Brooks.
There are some really hilarious scenes including a cameo by Shirley MacClaine in the Hall of Memories and the differences in the hotels assigned to Streep and Brooks.
I really loved this movie and can watch it over and over! |
| Rating | | | Date | October 16, 2004 | | Summary | Fun & Intelligent | Content
| I would ignore John G's comments . . . . . intelligence IMHO is more than the cerebral limitations of our finite human minds. That's what makes this movie so entertaining. |
| Rating | | | Date | October 05, 2004 | | Summary | Clever concept, lightweight film | Content
| I've been hearing about what a terrific cult film this is so I had to see it. It's actually a very conventional boy-meets-girl flick, the only difference being this time it happens in the afterlife. Brooks' depiction of the "holding area" we go to after our demise, while we re waiting to see if we qualify for heaven, is amusing, but once there he does little with his premise except 1) have Brooks fall instantly in love with Meryl Streep and 2) sit through his worst moments of cowardice, which he has to defend with the help of his lawyer, played by Rip Torn, against a prosecutor, Lee Grant, who makes Marcia Clarke look like Miss Congeniality.
The two problems I have with this movie are 1) the romance is unconvincing. We never really see a moment of connection between the two--it's just instant love and "I've never met anyone like you" when they barely know each other, and it's more of a plot device than real character development. And 2) the film's ultimate message is muddled. At first the film seems to say those in the afterlife have it over us because of their superior intelligence--they use "more than 50% of their brains." They call us "little brains" and they delight in our inability to comprehend things that to them are so simple.
But when Brooks' character's trial begins, it centers on his not taking risks, not his intellectual inferiority. But risk-taking is inherently opposed to intelligent, rational, considered decision-making, which has at its core self-preservation and calculation instead of impulsiveness and immediate gratification. Thus it's hard to fault Brooks for what he does and doesn't do--here was the opportunity for some real moral dilemmas, but instead the film shows such minor transgressions that we should all hope our lives are so clean. (And this is a man whose career was advertising! Lots of opportunities here, all unused by Brooks.) On the other hand, Meryl Streep's character does well with the "big brains" in her trial. In one scene from her extraordianry life, Meryl rushing back into her burning house, after having saved her two children, to rescue the family cat. But I would argue that risking making your kids orphans just to save Fluffy is very *un*inteligent behavior. Have you ever heard a fire fighter praise a mother for leaving her kids at the curbside to go back in and get the cat? This is what pleases our keepers above? They're not very good keepers in that case.
The same is true of Brooks' final act: is running in front of a bunch of speeding busses something someone who uses more than 50% of his brain would do? After all, this is how he got killed to begin with.
Many readers will think I'm being overly-analytical for a comedy, but in a comedy of ideas the ideas have to work. Even a "brain dead" comedy like Bad Santa was *consistent* in its outlook.
The performances are rather bland. Albert Brooks is standard issue Albert Brooks, but even here I miss the more manic qualities he displays in many of his other films (Lost In America, Modern Romance, Broadcast News). This seems to be a "softer" Brooks, and it gets boring. Streep does the best she can with a really paper-thin role. We never get why she connects so strongly with Brooks after exchaning a few banalities with him, and if I were him I'd fear she were interested in me only because everyone else is over 70. Rip Torn does his typical comic stuff, but we never really get into why he's so laid back about providing a defense for Brooks, and there's a bit in the middle where he disappears for a day that is never really explained, since Brooks' defense doesn't go any differently with Torn's substitute (Buck Henry). The best person in the picture may well be Lee Grant, who attacks her role with zest and is credible as a tough-as-nails prosecutor "just doing her job."
Can't recommend this flick very highly, unless you're an Albert Brooks completist who must see every film he is involved with.
|
| Rating | | | Date | October 03, 2004 | | Summary | Quirky view of heaven | Content
| In one of your more philosophical moods, pop in this love story. Be ready to laugh, as the montage one of the main characters life foibles views like an outake clip |
|
Picture 01 (20)
