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Summary: One of Hollywood's best kept secrets
Review: "Defending Your Life" is a hilarious, thought-provoking and all-around entertaining look at the afterlife. If this movie is any indication, Albert Brooks is a comic genius. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys good dry humor and movies about the afterlife.
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Summary: My favorite Albert Brooks movie!!
Review: Albert Brooks and Rip Torn are a hilarious duo! The dark humor of Albert's character, Daniel, played against the car salesman-ish stereotype of Rip Torn's character, Bob Diamond, is priceless. Daniel's seemingly pathetic life is so off-the-chart bad that I couldn't stop laughing.
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Summary: No need to defend this movie.
Review: Albert Brooks can be a prickly entertainer for some folks. The general consensus seems to be that he's like Woody Allen with less neuroses but more anger. But *Defending Your Life* can be a Brooks film for people who don't care much for Albert Brooks. This is his most accessible movie. Having said that, it should also be said, however, that Brooks' conception of the Afterlife is probably the toughest-minded ever conceived for cinema. The idea is you're basically put on trial after you've died: you get a defender, but there's also a prosecutor. Your entire life has been "put on tape", and the "lawyers" for and against you use this tape as evidence to support their respective cases. What's at stake? The reward of moving on to the "next level". (Heaven, presumably.) If you lived your life BRAVELY, you get to move on. If not? Back to Earth you go: you have to start all over again. Albert Brooks apparently doesn't go along with the most current dogma whose Heaven seems to allow any mediocrity to crash the party. To be surfeited on mothers'-milk pop psychology won't cut it. No! You have to EARN your eternal reward! (Though Brooks IS easy on the children: they get a free pass.) The movie's premise is pretty brilliant, and is equaled by the execution: this fantasy stays true to its logic throughout, and there are many comic touches along the way. While Brooks and his thousands of fellow-recently-deceased await the outcome of their "trials", they pass the time in "Judgment City", which rather resembles Orlando, Florida. (They all arrive by trams, as if they're getting a lift from their parking space to the ticket-windows at Disney World.) In Judgment City, the defendants stay in hotels of varied luxury. Brooks' new Afterlife girlfriend, Meryl Streep, is lodged in a five-star affair . . . while he's stuck in the "Continental" (somewhere between a Best Western and Holiday Inn). Other fun details include an ability to eat all you wish without worrying about weight gain; a "Past-Lives Pavilion" hosted by (well, I won't spoil it); miniature golf courses where it's always a hole-in-one, etc. The set design for *Defending Your Life* deserves special mention. Utilizing real locations and brilliant matte paintings, the sets manage to convey a real sense of place, despite the fantastical nature of the story. Performances? Brooks doesn't have to work hard -- the premise does that for him. As noted in another review here, Streep in unusually sweet in this film, thereby adding Very-Nice-Person to her dramatis personae. (And she doesn't cry once!) Rip Torn almost steals the movie as Brooks' bluff defender. And look for a very funny Buck Henry in a cameo part.
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Summary: Its a Wonderful Life. Defend it!
Review: Albert Brooks delivers an often hilarious look at the afterlife. After his vehicle is struck by a bus, (while he is trying to pick up CDs that have fallen off his passenger seat...) he is sent to Judgement City, where people receive Approval on their lives. This results in moving on in the universe, returning to earth for yet another try, or (worst of all) they throw you out... Don't worry about it now. Brilliant people (Like Rip Torn and Lee Grant) who use over 50% of their brain (compared to our 3-5%) will represent us. Filled with wonderful forward looking humor and plenty of Albert Brooks whining, the movie entertains, even though it is far from perfection... Its to die for.
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Summary: Smart & Spiritual Comedy
Review: Albert Brooks is dead. So is Merryl Streep. Can they find true love together, anyway? In a temporary afterlife, where an elite group of brains (led hysterically by Rip Torn and Buck Henry) decide your fate. If you conquered your fears during your life on Earth, you get promoted in your next life to a better world. If you didn't -- then it's back to that horrible little Earth for you. Streep, perfection in white, will be moving on up. Brooks, who manages to look uneasy and neurotic while wearing heavenly robes, almost certainly seems doomed to another round on the third planet. Yet Streep and Brooks seem somehow made for each other. Can he beat the system and keep his new love? Or will separate reincarnations on different worlds keep them apart forever? "Defending Your Life" is a delightfully heretical comedy, with a gentle touch of blasphemy and many honest laughs. It's Albert Brooks' best movie since "Broadcast News," and he hasn't done anything as good since. A wonderful date movie -- just make sure you both have some Kleenex.
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Summary: Make sure you have a good attorney!
Review: 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:
Summary: Make sure you have a good attorney!!!
Review: 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!
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Summary: Do Not Return to Earth
Review: Albert Brooks, known for his non-mainstream movies, and also for writing, as well as performing in his own movies, shares the screen with Meryl Streep and Rip Torn in this charming story of what happens after we die. Whoever picked the actors for their roles deserved an Oscar, as the chemistry is perfect between them. The premise of the movie is that
a soul goes to a Purgatory-type place and the previous life is prosecuted, defended and judged in a court of law as to whether it will move on to become a higher-intelligence inhabitant of the Universe, or go back into another body and try again until they get it right.
Rent, buy or steal it, but make sure that you view it.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Comedy!
Review: Albert Brooks, Muriel Streep and Rip Torn...what a combination of acting talent. This is a great idea for a movie, and all the characters are so enjoyable to watch! This one is a winner...pure entertainment..without guns and violence.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Comedy!
Review: Albert Brooks, Muriel Streep and Rip Torn...what a combination of acting talent. This is a great idea for a movie, and all the characters are so enjoyable to watch! This one is a winner...pure entertainment..without guns and violence.
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