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Movies / On DVD / Defending Your Life
Defending Your Life

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Defending Your Life (1991)

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96 %
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Reviews Counted: 27

Fresh: 26

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 7.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Daniel Miller's got it all--great friends, a terrific job, and a brand-new BMW--that is, until he crashes the car into a bus as soon as he drives it off the lot. Daniel finds himself in Judgment... Daniel Miller's got it all--great friends, a terrific job, and a brand-new BMW--that is, until he crashes the car into a bus as soon as he drives it off the lot. Daniel finds himself in Judgment City in the afterlife, where the newly dead have five days to defend the way they lived their lives in order to be allowed to move onward instead of going back to earth to live another one. As Daniel reviews his less-than-courageous life, he also enjoys the perks of Judgment City--the Past Lives Pavilion, all the food you can eat without any risk of weight gain--and Julia, the woman he's waited all his life to find. But if he can't prove his life wasn't governed by fear, Daniel has to go back--and Julia seems a shoo-in to move onward. This highly original, touching comedy stars Albert Brooks as Daniel Miller and Meryl Streep as Julia, with hilarious supporting performances by Rip Torn as Daniel's defender, Lee Grant as his prosecutor, and Buck Henry as a taciturn substitute lawyer. [More]

Starring: Albert Brooks, Lee Grant, Buck Henry, Meryl Streep

Starring: Albert Brooks, Lee Grant, Buck Henry, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn

Director: Albert Brooks

Director: Albert Brooks

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Apr 3, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Defending Your Life

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though visually impressive, the film shows problems with tonality, which veers from outright comedy to earnest therapy session--the "seize the day" lesson is not strong enough for a full-length picture.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/12/06
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
10/09/05
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

An underrated gem that explores the long-term consequences of our everyday actions.

comment Comment
08/18/05
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

No review available.

comment Comment
07/18/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/11/05
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

No review available.

comment Comment
11/12/04
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
06/04/04
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
04/30/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
01/12/04
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

No review available.

comment Comment
10/31/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Caryn James
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A sweet, mildly profound romantic comedy.

comment Comment
05/18/03
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/29/03
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
11/16/02
Nicolas Lacroix
Showbizz.net

It just gives us a satisfying idea of what life's really about, while remaining a smart comedy with an edge.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

Interminable, typical Albert Brooks

comment 3 Comments
08/21/02
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
08/15/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

One of Brooks' warmest and wittiest projects. Nice to see such a soft side of Streep.

comment 1 Comment
08/12/02
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com
 
 
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