63
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe movie is funny in a warm, fuzzy way, and it has a splendidly satisfactory ending, which is unusual for an Albert Brooks film
- If you're looking for a pleasing, reassuring film, try this one.
- 70Time OutTime OutThe film is finally too soft, but the performances are uniformly strong, the humour intelligently adult, and Brooks once again proves a pleasing alternative to Woody Allen.
- 67Austin ChronicleKathleen MaherAustin ChronicleKathleen MaherThe movie's light, easily forgotten and very good for a few laughs. I sure hope that eating thing comes true.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanA lackluster affair — smooth and mildly pleasant, with some honest chuckles but without Brooks’ special, prosaic madness.
- 60The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinWithin the larger context of the Brooks oeuvre, this pleasantly mortifying arrangement makes perfect sense. [22 Mar 1991, p.C12]
- 50Los Angeles TimesSheila BensonLos Angeles TimesSheila BensonAn intermittently funny if unsteady mixture of first-rate Brooks Angst, and set-ups that never quite pay off. [22 Mar 1991, p.F6]
- 50Miami HeraldBill CosfordMiami HeraldBill CosfordBrooks as Brooks is the funniest observer of contemporary mores in Hollywood. Brooks behaving himself, as in Defending Your Life, is just another clever fellow. [05 Apr 1991, p.G5]
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineUnfortunately, Defending Your Life suffers from a slushy-headed pop fever.
- 40EmpireEmpireThe movie is lavishly designed and assembled. However, the sometimes muddled, sometimes boring, and definitely overlong screenplay, lacking subtlety and definition, disappoints the expectations of enjoyment that are set up in the first 15 minutes.