Another movie (in the first few minutes, in this case) where a male character states "you're born alone, you die alone" as though it is a universal truth. Usually a mother is involved at someone's birth.

A smart, sincere and quietly hilarious look at the afterlife, Defending Your Life is one of the most overlooked comedies of its era. Albert Brooks writes, directs, and stars with a calm confidence, crafting a world as imaginative as it is grounded. Rip Torn and Lee Grant are perfectly cast as cosmic attorneys, and Meryl Streep is never more affable or disarming than she is here. The film moves quickly, explores deep ideas with ease and sticks its landing - even if the ending is predictable. A forgotten gem that absolutely holds up.

Albert Brooks creates an imaginative film of whimsy and the fears of life. The humor may be subtle, but it's there. Good performances, charming story, and a beautiful score make for a memorable viewing experience.

Very boring and sad movie. Albert Brooks doing his sad sack routine again. Getting very old. Waste of Merril Streep.

There’s something from Wuthering Heights in this movie… Speaking of which, that would be one life to defend.

I think about this movie all the time. It’s funny and thought provoking. One of my favorite movies of all time!

Definitely Albert Brooks's masterpiece, extremely funny, surprisingly profound, and overall one of the most beautiful movies ever made. The all-time greatest and probably most realistic depiction of the afterlife on film. I have not and never will cry during a film, but the ending of this might be the closest I've ever come to.

A nice movie for a Saturday afternoon. A story of a man who dies and needs to defend his life so that, if he succeeds, he can go to a higher level or, if he fails, return to life. Nothing extraordinary happens in the movie, besides toying with the idea that humans live in fear. The acting is fine. The main character's somewhat unaffected and not quiet there demeanor gets a bit boring. But all in all it's a nice lighthearted movie

I've seen this movie at least six times, and I cry at the end every single time. If you like romantic comedies, it's the best one ever. The chemistry between Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep is amazing (and it's so refreshing to see romantic leads that are close in age)! If you're not particularly into romantic comedies, but you're s philosophical person who likes thinking about what happens after we die, and you like great acting and hilarious writing, then you'll like this movie. My husband doesn't care for romcoms, but after I finally convinced him to watch Defending Your Life, he gave it 4 stars.

My favourite version of the afterlife.

I observed the jokes, and I knew it was supposed to be funny, but it wasn't. Everything falls flat. I wanted to like this. I like Brooks, and I love Rip Torn. Obviously Streep is a great actress. But, this was long and dull. The food "joke" got old really fast, and was repeated several times. Trite messaging about love, conquering your fears, living a "good" life - ho hum. Feel-good pabulum. I kept checking to see how much time was left, and finally made it to the end. A very light, nearly empty experience overall.

Classic. My whole family quote lines from this. Great storyline and acting is fantastic. Wish they made more films like this.

I thought it fairly obvious from its title what this film would be about. I was right… and at the same time so very wrong… and delightfully so! Defending Your Life is a flick released in 1991 which stars Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep. Brooks is also the writer and director. Daniel Miller (Brooks) purchases a new car for his birthday and heads out into the traffic of Los Angeles. While temporarily distracted he ends up colliding with an oncoming bus. Cue the film's credits, and the primary story commences! When we see him next, he's being transported in a wheelchair to a tram where all the other passengers are dressed in the same white robe (tupa) he now wearing. Soon he is being settled into his temporary accommodations in the Continental Hotel in Judgement City. Turns out that Judgement City appears very much like Earth, thus eliminating any stress for the new arrivals. No gold cities, no pits of fire… just buildings and roads and perfect weather. Daniel discovers that over the next few days his existence on Earth will be judged and it will be determined whether he will transition to further development or be sent back to Earth to try again to have a more successful journey. What makes this film very optimistic and witty is that the judgement everyone goes through has nothing to do with good/virtue or evil/sin. These things are not criteria in determining if one's existence on Earth was successful or not. I won't spoil things by giving away what the judgement process actually addresses, but I will say that it makes the film very thought provoking, both when viewing it and when pondering it later. Meryl Streep is sublime as Julia, another recently departed human who is finding her judgement process much easier than Daniel. The two befriend each other and eventually begin to feel romantic feelings for each other. Rip Torn and Lee Grant are both wonderful as opposing characters, one defending, and the other judging Daniel's previous time on Earth. There's also an amusing cameo by Shirley MacLaine who plays a guide in the Pavilion of Past Lives that Daniel and Julia visit! While thought provoking, one can't help but simply feel joyous and highly entertained while watching this clever tale. And rest assured, being from the mind of Albert Brooks, the film is littered with clever and self-deprecating humor. The movie, like life in general, is both provocative and silly.

It is easy to see how the death of a person is supposed to play out while we wait in limbo (purgatory). Based on the choices we make, do we go to heaven or hell? Albert Brooks adaption of what is supposed to happen to us when we die is as close to realistic as possible. Based off of the "judgement review" of our life, Brooks' ability to show what can happen to us if we don't learn all of the lessons we're supposed to learn while we're here is as dramatic as it is inspiring. A love story throughout, Brooks and Streep tackle their roles with unrelinquished abandon. Both are excellent in their roles and the movie easily pulls you in to what could possibly happen during our review period. So says the Gooch.

This is pretty good with one exception: There's no boning Meryl Streep in Heavenly terrains, that's purgatory. Although we don't see if there is a real boning, there is implied boning, and boning is all a very earthy experience. That's why God's joke is you get those 72 virgins when you martyr yourself because they're virgins in Heaven for a reason. God sees you come up to his pearly gates surrounded by the most beautiful angels all, "I see you've arrived early for your reward!" as you think FINALLY! before looking down at your former nether regions AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! as God laughs "Would you like another trip down to the nether, my son?".

That's funny how they use the same tram cars that they use in the Disney theme parks, as if this were some kind of fun getaway. Hah! The irony. This is a pretty creative and humorous take on the afterlife. It's so weird to see Rip Torn be so charismatic and jolly. Damn, Meryl's so charming and pretty, very lovely. She's so fun and carefree. I love it! No wonder she's regarded as on of the best actors to ever live. It almost seems like she's not even acting, it's natural. I liked the concepts and ideas but I felt like the execution was just okay, not amazing. There was a lack of interesting aesthetic and everything felt pretty generic, which makes sense for Judgment City. I get that it's supposed to be Brooks' vision of the afterlife, Judgement City, but I just wish there was more color and life. Some of the humor is really good but then some of it feels forced - making you feel like you need to give a pity laugh. I loved all the colorful and eccentric characters like the Italian server and the Japanese guys at the sushi restaurant. I'd watch it again because it was funny and entertaining but I feel like it's not worth a Criterion buy.

So happy I stumbled upon this film. I was unfamiliar with the wit of Albert Brooks before this. It was a refreshingly original idea for a movie. I loved the theme of finding the courage to reach your potential. Simple and brilliant as it weaved the storyline together. Meryl is a doll and I see the brilliance of her acting in her small mannerisms. She just slides into the role. The ending was cheese but that's alright - the movie was well worth it anyways. Also...who doesn't love Rip Torn? Everyone was well cast. I did laugh at the beginning though when he died and was only surrounded by white people in the afterlife. Don't think that was meant to be a joke.

Albert Brooks stars and directs once more. A comedy about what happens after we die. But we're still struggling to defend the way we want it to go. Brooks is Dan Miller. He isn't having the best week but to make matters worse he ends up dead after getting into a car accident. Now he's in a place that's not quite heaven but not hell. It's called Judgement City and he arrives with many others dressed in white. It's like a dream come true with all kinds of luxuries and activities. He meets a lovely woman Julia who's own existence is enough for her ascension. But Dan is going to have to work hard to justify his actions when he was alive. Torn plays Bob Diamond whom is in charge of things. He runs the deceased through an examination. If they succeed they ascend to a higher plane of existence. Dan's got a lot of internal issues that stem from his childhood in school and at home from his father. Dan only has 5 days though to appeal to his lawyer and face the prosecutor. This movie gives a comforting picture of a regular man in the afterlife and sifts through the idea that we all live fear-plagued lives. The director skewers a version of himself, exposing parts of his own psyche and personality that negatively impact him and others he loves. He acts as someone who hates judgment, avoiding it at all costs, in constant horror of embarrassment, others' opinions and his own faltering image. Many of us like him have no idea how brave or cowardly we can be, we have no clue how differently our lives could've been if we had more courage or backed out from doing certain things, who knows how much capacity of our brains we use when we're alive?, we are all tired of being judged, we all wish we could do better whilst being alive otherwise it feels like we've wasted so much The movie is a divine romantic comedy and a dive into existentialism. This reminds us one person can make a large difference even to himself if were brave enough.

It was creative, inventive, and touching in a certain way, but I found the lead character to be dumb and unexpressive, don't know if it was the actor's interpretation or if the character was supposed to be like that. Meryl always shining. A feel-good romantic comedy that has aged well. P.D. Watch while eating something, or you'll get massively hungry.

This movie is so underrated. It's so hilarious and a great take of what happens after we die.