User Reviews

Albert Brooks' view of death is very pleasing to me! Imagine eating all you want while dressed in a comfortable Star Trek outfit! Plus the weather is always great!

Unfortunately, that's only at Judgement City..who knows the circumstances at the other places?

Daniel (Brooks) dies in the first ten minutes, while listening to Streisand in his brand new car. He is whisked off to Judgement City where everyone's life is evaluated. You see glimpses of your own past and have to defend your life and yourself. There's a prosecutor and your trial will decide if you 'go on' or 'go back' but none of that really matters that much. Its really just a reason to see all the flashbacks and relive all the memories. Everything is based on fear - how you handle it, if you let it run your life and, most importantly, if you overcame it at all.

On night in a comedy club he meets Julia, played by Meryl Streep. They get along immediately and enjoy each other very much. She has a better hotel than he does and as the movie progresses you see Daniel as more of a loser than anything, while Julia was apparently in the other category. She is on a first-name basis with her lawyer and gets invited to a dinner party he throws. Daniel eats alone in a sushi bar (very funny scene!) that night.

There is one priceless scene that I closely identified with. Daniel is on his way to Hong Kong (this is a scene from his life, obviously) and finds he has seat 'B', meaning he's between two people. He can't even consider sitting in between two people for that long a trip so asks the flight attendant if there are any available seats in first class. She says there is one seat, but it costs $3000 more. He takes it! I would also do a lot to avoid seat 'B', too!

Albert Brooks movies are never laugh riots, but they are not supposed to be. They are pleasantly amusing, memorable and thoughtful. This movie falls into the category too but does contain a couple of very funny scenes - during his 'trial' there is what seems to be a 'blooper' tape of his life that is very funny and played strictly for laughs. Its a little disrespectful of the character but Brooks never minds portraying himself as vulnerable and human.

Outcome is very satisfying. Streep underplays beautifully and the two actors have a considerable amount of chemistry. Rip Torn, Lee Grant and Buck Henry are the lawyers, and all of them are servicable. 8/10.

A wonderful comedy-fantasy that has all the wit of a good Woody Allen movie combined with genuine sweetness and good-naturedness. It's one of those rare films that achieve profundity without pushing for it; here it is done with the help of the clever structure. Albert Brooks delivers some great one-liners and wins the audience's affection easily, while Meryl Streep is atypically unaffected and Lee Grant is excellent in her supporting role. And who could ask for a better ending? (***)

Albert Brooks is daring enough to look at the afterlife in a different way. However, the message is not about the afterlife but very much about your life now. Especially if you believe that you live only once, the message in this movie should speak to you even more, because that means there is only one chance, and if you fear to much to take it, well, that's that.

Let's realize folks: Life has so much to offer us. Our hands are too small to handle it all, but let's not fear to take all we can handle......

Albert Brooks definitely gives us his take on the afterlife. After watching movies such as "Chances Are" "Ghost" and "Heart and Souls" afterlife hasn't looked better. Brooks is a comedic genius but not only as an actor but a writer and director as well.

In addition, Brooks was joined in this film by Rip Torn and Meryl Streep, who are phenomenal talents of their own. Their additions to the movie makes it that much funnier and dramatically better.

Aside from "What Dreams May Come," "Defending Your Life" is the best afterlife film I've seen because it is different than all the others. Brooks is a relief since his comedy is genuinely funny.

This movie was a joy to watch because of the fun cast, unique plot and fun loving environment. Brooks, the writer, created the script with laughter in mind and enjoyment in his heart.

The setting of "Defending Your Life" was very creative because it seemed so unique yet so real and true to life on earth. I was very impressed by the set designers at what they came up with to use as sets.

Brooks created each scene with humor and wanted the film to be as original as possible. He succeeded because I enjoyed and laughed throughout the film and only original films do that for me.

"Defending Your Life" will go down movie history as one of the more original and funnier films dealing with the afterlife. This is a must see for everyone.

While driving his brandy new BMW, the yuppie Daniel Miller (Albert Brooks) distracts with his CD player and crash a bus. He awakes in the Judgment City, a place in the afterlife where his accomplishment in life will be judged to decide whether he shall move on or return to another life on Earth. With support of the defender Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), Daniel must prove that he has overcame the fears of his previous life, but the tough prosecutor Lena Foster (Lee Grant) has evidences showing that Daniel was a coward. Meanwhile Daniel meets the enlightened Julia (Meryl Streep) that has had a perfect life and will certainly move on to the next step of her journey; however, they fall in love for each other and Daniel does not want to lose his true love.

"Defending Your Life" is a delightfully cute and pleasant romance with an original story about the afterlife. This is maybe the best movie of the annoying Albert Brook, and Meryl Streep is adorable as I have never seen before in the role of a woman that had a perfect life on Earth. I saw this film in 1991 and only today I have decided to see it again, and surprisingly the timeless tale has not aged. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Um Visto para o Céu" ("A Visa to the Heaven")

Note: On 20 February 2021, I saw this film again.

This film's tag-line "The first true story of what happens after you die," is so perfect for this film. This film is so consistently funny, I only wish I could screen it for all my friends at the same time, so I could share it with every one of them. I've seen this film many times, and enjoy it more each time. "Lost In America" is a great film of Albert Brooks', but this one is my favourite of his. Sadly, I rarely encounter someone who's already seen it. When I think of underrated films, I think of this one first.

Right off the bat, our protagonist, Brooks, is dead, flattened by a bus. Next thing you know, he's in Judgment City, where people go when they die, and where it will be decided if he will go on to the next level or go back for another crack at life on Earth.

In Judgment City he's reminded of all the key events in his life in something like a flashback screening room and his life is then evaluated by the custodians of the city, who will decide if he goes forward or not. Much like a court appearance.

There are great performances by supporting players, especially Rip Torn, and while I never associated Meryl Streep with great comedy, she holds her own as Brooks' love interest. There is a hilariously understated performance by Buck Henry.

The most fun with this film is learning bit by bit about the inner workings of Judgment City, as each aspect seems to have been well thought out and executed beautifully, right down to eating arrangements. A true masterful writing achievement for Brooks, who has shown his brilliance in many other films as well.

This film should've been a big success, but in a way, I feel privileged to be one of the few people I know who has seen this film and enjoyed it so much. I'll do my part though, spreading the good word as much as possible.

See it before you die.

There have been many movies about the life and death, but "Defending Your Life" is probably the most interesting. Albert Brooks directs himself as yuppie Daniel Miller, who gets killed in a car wreck one day. Once dead, he gets transported to Judgment City, where he has to defend the self-serving, mealy-mouthed life that he led; if he wins, he gets to continue on the afterlife, but if he loses, then he has to live another life to improve on his previous one. Meryl Streep plays Julia, whom Daniel gets to know in Judgment City, while Rip Torn plays Daniel's attorney and Lee Grant plays the prosecutor.

I gotta say, it's a crying shame that there aren't more movies like this. Whenever Albert Brooks directs a movie, it always seems like he comes up with something really creative, and he doesn't disappoint here. If this is really what happens after we die, than I am not afraid to die (hey, no one should fear death; I mean, we're all gonna die eventually). And above all, I staunchly defend this movie.

I have seen this film many times, and each time I seem to enjoy it more and more. Albert Brooks gets a hat-trick by directing, writing, and starring in this film about what life is like after death and what lies ahead for each individual. Many have already gone into great detail about the particulars of the film. I want to add that the film has tremendous heart. Albert Brooks gives probably his best performance as a man riddled with inner fears and yet learning quickly about life. The humour underlies almost every line in the film, much of it subtle and some more obvious. Brooks has a definite grasp of the little annoyances in life as he pokes fun at all kinds of situations that many of us just forget ever happened. The supporting cast is very good. I don't ever remember Meryl Streep looking so well. She seems to be so at home in her role. Lee Grant is as always a major plus, and Buck Henry adds his special subtle humour in a small role. But acting honors and many of the big laughs go to Rip Torn who looks like he is having a ball in his role defending Brook's character. The film, above all, says something about the fears and constraints we have in our lives and how they hold us back emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. How true!

This film changed my life and helped me to become a better person.

This movie made me realize how MY life will look when showed upon "the big screen". "Defending Your Life" made me think about how I have handled fear and adversity in my life. It also made me consider the effect my actions can have on the lives of others.

Because of this movie, I can tell you that my bus driver's name is Joe, and my mailman is Bob.

I never liked Meryl Streep in other movies, but playing Julia, she is absolutely charming. This is one of the few movies I plan to buy and keep.

Welcome back to another edition of Adam's Reviews!! **queue in intro music**

Tonight's movie review is the afterlife comedy Defending Your Life (1991), written, directed and starring Albert Brooks who plays Daniel, a business man who dies in a car accident while driving his new BMW on his birthday. Sucks right? What sucks more is he finds himself defending the decisions he has made during his lifetime in a courtroom purgatory like afterlife known as Judgement City. The premise of the afterlife place is that once you die, you go to court to defend your actions during your life in order to ascend to a higher plane of existence. Daniel meets Julia, played by the queen herself Meryl Streep and soon they both quickly fall in love. The problem is that Daniel may have fears which will lead to a "going back to Earth and restart again" sentence whereas Julia seems to have what it takes to move to the 'next stage' of existence. This movie was smartly done, very imaginative and a different perspective on what happens once you pass away. Albert Brooks does well with the momentum of the film and executes it at a subtle manner.

Albert Brooks movies are not your go to timeless laugh jams - his direction of his flicks are usually simple and smart. That's exactly what this film is, pleasantly amusing, memorable and thoughtful. The scenes of his trial were innovatively handled as its more of a blooper trailer of the decisions his character makes throughout the course of his life. Streep underplays her character really well and the two have good chemistry. The person who really steals the movie to me is Rip Torn who plays Daniels lawyer Bob Diamond, every scene he is in is all laughs and his comedic timing is on point. The scene where he explains to Daniel that the average person on earth only uses three percent of available brain capacity along with defending him in during trial was hilarious. Smart and subtle comedy for a Friday night, overall 7/10

I just recently saw this movie again on the tube and I was reminded why its one of my favourites. Not only is Brooks at his comedic best but Meryl Streep blended seamlessly into this movie.

I was surprised that most of the comments about this movie were focused only on the afterlife and not the more obvious premise of the movie - how we deal with fear. While it is virtually impossible to take a Albert Brooks movie to heart, this one proves to be a clear exception. There is actually a profound message in this movie - your life is significantly shaped by the way you deal with fear.

I challenge anyone who hasn't yet seen this movie to watch it and failed to be entertained. You won't be sorry.

Want to know what happens to you after you die? Well, "Defending Your Life" explains it all. With Albert Brooks directing, writing, and starring in it, "DFYL" is all that unique Brooks brand of understated, poker-faced, droll comedy. The film begins with Brooks' death and ends with his...well, you'll find out. A clean, crisp, creative piece, the film's romantic subplot doesn't seem to work too well. Brooks and Streep just don't look right together, IMHO. Nonetheless, those with a taste for Brooks' comedy won't be disappointed by this tasty little flick about what's beyond life.

This movie is the very definition of "feel good movie."

This is a true laugh a minute while still managing to be insightful film. I watched this movie with my grandparents and all three of us burst out laughing at the same times. I don't think I've ever seen a movie where that's happened before. This movie will appeal to anyone... the jokes, you just can't miss them. It's touching and mind bogglingly hilarious at the same time. And the ending is phenomonal! Watch this movie just for the ending. :) Take two hours out of your life and watch a movie that I promise you, you won't soon forget. Watch it with your family and have someone to laugh with.

I am going to see this movie over and over again, and I don't usually say that about movies. Interestingly enough, I was reading a self help book that turned out to be a complete bore the night before but which used "Defending Your Life" as an example for something they were trying to prove. I thought, hmm, that sounds interesting, but it's probably one of those old obscure movies I'll never get a chance to see. The very next day, I was in the video store just by chance, and while I was walking down the Comedy isle this movie jumped out at me. "Hey! That was the book I read about last night!" I thought. I got the movie and I wasn't dissapointed. What a way to make my day.

Thank you Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep!

Six years after piercing the yuppie delusion of the open road with his trenchantly funny "Lost in America", Albert Brooks went again behind and before the camera to make this amusing, soft-centered 1991 romantic fantasy involving one man's challenge in handling the afterlife. As with "Lost in America", Brooks casts himself as an LA-based advertising executive (a favorite calling of his for the satirical possibilities), but this time a very successful one named Daniel Miller. As he dives for some CDs in the spanking new BMW convertible he bought himself for his birthday, he crashes into a bus and dies. Before you can say heaven can wait, Daniel finds himself in a white tunic in a sterile-looking place called Judgment City. As he finds out, this is where he is to be placed on trial to find out if he moves on to heaven or has to return to earth.

The rest of the film is focused on Daniel's trial, where he gets to witness select scenes from his life on a big screen, evidence used by both the defense lawyer and the prosecutor to support their respective cases. In the midst of the trial, he meets and falls in love with an idealized woman named Julia, the perfect candidate for heaven made clear by her innate goodness and shorter trial. His response to their romance leads to a nicely executed climax which tests Daniel's deep-seeded fears toward his inevitable fate. Although I miss the pervasive acerbity that I have come to expect from Brooks' comedy style, he achieves a winsome romanticism here and addresses pertinent questions about how fear holds us back from the things we really want.

As Daniel, Brooks is a softer version of himself though just as self-critical, while a relaxed, accent-free Meryl Streep is ideally cast as the too-good-to-be-true Julia, whose only quirk is the bottomless appetite that the afterlife allows her. The two develop a nice rapport that makes the ending emotionally palpable. In welcome appearances, a likable Rip Torn and a tough-minded Lee Grant play their roles as the battling lawyers with precision. Even Shirley MacLaine shows up in a cameo in a particularly funny scene set at the aptly named Past Lives Pavilion, where people can see their previous incarnations. This is an unexpectedly warm and fuzzy treat from a master of comedy sarcasm. There are unfortunately no extras with the 2001 DVD.

This is a great movie. Written and directed and performed by Albert Brooks. The concepts and ideas he came up with for this one are truly genius. One disappointment is that some of the scenes were cut from the original movie (I suspect to obtain the PG rating) which were really funny things. If anyone knows where I can obtain a DVD of the original uncut version I would like to get one for my collection. Also why doesn't IMDb have a full biography of Brook's other films? Perhaps I did not see the right section of the website, but when you type in the search phrase it should pull up a link for all of his accomplishments. Regardless this movie is still hilarious and even my teen age kids had a few side busting laughs with the whole concept and delivery of by Brooks and his humor.

This film gets unfairly knocked for being too much of a "feel good" movie, but what happens when you NEED a film to help you feel good?

I have this on DVD and watch it when I am feeling depressed, for it reminds me, "Courage, mon Pierre!" Tough out the hard parts, show a little fortitude, and you too, will "move forward."

So much in this film rings true. If we hide inside a shell of fear, we miss so much in life. When we come out, when we show courage, if we jump off that tram and chase down our true love, we gain all we desire!

Here's a little gem from the early 90s that I hadn't heard of until recently. It's an unchallenging bit of wit centered around Albert Brooks' humor using a view of the afterlife that functions around the idea of reincarnation. There's something about overcoming fear to become a better person which feels surprisingly thin, but it's the sort of thin that is a nice veneer to a little story of the afterlife.

Daniel Miller (Albert Brooks) is an ad executive who, on the first day he gets his small BMW, rams it head-on into a bus and dies instantly. Disorientated, he wakes up to find himself in a line to get on a tram towards Judgment City. Dressed all in white, he's led to the Continental Hotel where he will stay a few days while a defender and prosecutor argue in front of a pair of judges whether Miller has learned enough in his life, the latest in a succession of lives, to "move on" or whether he'll have to go back to Earth to try again in a new life from scratch. While there he meets Julia, another early death who seems destined to move on and with whom Miller falls head over heels for.

This is all largely a setup for Brooks to be funny to other people, and I suppose your enjoyment of the film depends on your enjoyment of Brooks' humor. Me? I find him amusing, so when he and Julia go to Judgment City's comedy club, the Dying Onstage, and he heckles the poor comic with the bad audience, I feel like it deserves a little chuckle. When he makes gentle fun of Julia's form of death, when she fell down some stairs, hit her head, and drowned by saying the Olympic Committee demands more from such displays, I chuckle again.

Not all of the comedy is rooted in what essentially amounts to Brooks doing standup for the audience of whomever he's talking to. A good bit of it is character based, and it works at the same level as everything else. The central idea of Miller's journey is that he's afraid and that's what's keeping him from moving on. There's a building in Judgment City that allows the temporary denizens to view selections from their past lives. Julia and Miller go together, and while Julia sees Prince Valiant, Miller sees an African tribesman running from a lion, implying that Julia's been on the path upwards for centuries but Miller's been the same scared little man for the same amount of time. It's amusing, lightly so, but amusing still.

From a character based point of view, the idea of a person overcoming their fear makes sense. From this afterlife point of view, it seems vanishingly small, though. I don't think the movie ever convinces me that Miller's cowardice is what is preventing his brain from expanding into greater usage, what essentially amounts to the status symbol of those working in Judgment City. I can see it outside of the film's own presentation, but the movie treats everything so lightly that the connection between Miller's two major problems, his fear and his inability to move on over the course of a thousand lifetimes, never feels really established.

The movie ends with Julia and Miller going in different directions, with Julia moving on after having even her prosecutor in tears for her incredibly selfless and brave life and Miller being consigned back to Earth to try again. Miller takes this moment to overcome his fear and jump from one tram to another which his judges see and take as him finally advancing enough to move on. It's an unchallenging little ending with enough pathos that it works. It's nice.

Now, Julia. Julia is a bit of a problem. As an ideal for Miller to strive towards, a final thing for him to try to achieve, she's fine. She works in that regard. However, she doesn't really seem to work as a character. In the logic of the world, she should have moved on many lives ago. In terms of herself as a recently dead person, she only makes scant mention of the family, including small children, that she's leaving behind. As a woman who, until very recently, was happily married, she's shockingly willing to jump into bed with Miller even if it's the afterlife and probably decades before there's any hope of seeing her husband again. She works as a function of Miller's story, but she doesn't feel complete on her own.

One final note. The movie has fun with expectations on behavior in life that the afterlife would want to see. Miller gets chastised for not being aggressive enough in business, for his inability to speak in public, and even for giving a school era friend a second chance by giving him his paint supplies which the teacher then yells at the young Miller for losing. I think it's primarily a source of comedy, upending expectations about the afterlife, but Brooks, as writer and director, makes it central to Miller's journey, providing the movie the thin backbone it needs to get us through the journey with him.

The cast is fine. Brooks breezes through his own project on his wit. Meryl Streep is pretty and charming as Julia. Rip Torn is big and endearing as Bob, Miller's defender. Much like most of the movie, the performances are fine. They're nice. They do their job and little more.

It's an amusing little trifle of a film that tries to have something on its mind but is never terribly interested in it. It's witty and amusing while it lasts, leaving little impression other than the chuckles had along the way.

OK, it may be a bit too romantic-comedy-like, but the one-liners and story concepts are excellent. Albert Brooks plays a very convincing confused dead guy trying to figure out how to justify his total lack of manlihood. Apparently, you can only go to the next level if you have no regrets in life. So, he must go to court to defend his life. Rip Torn couldn't be funnier. The whole story is a crack-up. Note the details in the surroundings. Things like billboards, items on desks, clothing, building architecture. It's all surrealistic. It's almost like it wasn't intended to be that way, but obviously, it was. Your gal will like this story for its romanticism, you'll like it for it's irony and comedy.

From writer-director-star Albert Brooks. He plays Daniel, a middle-aged L. A. guy who dies in a car crash. He wakes up in the afterlife, which looks a lot like southern California, where he has to await judgment to decide his next destination: either moving on to the next level of existence, or rebirth on Earth to learn more life lessons. While he awaits his trial, he meets fellow recently-deceased person Julia (Meryl Streep), and the two hit it off.

Brooks' version of the hereafter is amusing in it's bureaucracy. I liked the never-ending food options, as those waiting to be judged get to eat whatever they want, and however much they want, with no cost or physical repercussions, and it always tastes amazing. Rip Torn is funny as Brooks' boisterous defense attorney, and here he seems to have set the tone for his later career triumphs, like The Larry Sanders Show.

I've always thought it was odd that people were judged worthy of going on to the next level based on how much risk they took in their life on earth, as compulsive risk takers are often not very nice or unselfish people.

Well acted and well written comedy featuring the combined talents of Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep.

A truly excellent idea that was simply not done justice by the script writer and director. Totally lacking in subtlety. We saw very little variance in the main actors - either helplessly over the moon or down in the dumps. I watched it right through only out of the hope it would deviate into some refreshing angle. While the ending is surprising, there really seemed no-where for the relationship of the two main characters to go to. It seemed to be there just to pad things out. There was no real conflict between them - it was all too easy and everything was accepted too easily. Some good performances from minor roles (Defendent, Italian chef). Overall, a great idea poorly thought through.