Main Cast: Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Lee Grant, Buck Henry
Release Year: 1991
Country: US
Run Time: 112 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Albert Brooks wrote, directed, and stars in this philosophical comedy about a man having a hard time making a case for himself in the afterlife. When advertising executive Daniel Miller (Albert Brooks) finds himself in a fatal car crash minutes after taking delivery on a new BMW, he's whisked away to Judgment City, where the recently dead are put on a sort of trial to decide their fate. If in your time on Earth you were able to face your fears and learn from your mistakes, you get to move on to a life in a better world. However, if you didn't, you have to go back to Earth and try again. As he spends the next several days watching various episodes from his life, Daniel gets the impression he doesn't stand much of a chance of moving on -- and his representative, Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), seems to have little confidence in his case. In the meantime, he frequents Judgment City's many restaurants (where the food is delicious and you can eat all you want without gaining an ounce), pays a visit to the Past Life Pavilion, and meets Julia (Meryl Streep), who seems so kind, sweet, and noble that her advancement is practically assured. Daniel and Julia fall in love, but what's going to happen if they don't end up in the same place? Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep make a witty and engaging romantic team in Defending Your Life, and Shirley MacLaine appears in a highly appropriate cameo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Enchanting, always funny, sometimes hilarious, and featuring a surprisingly light comic performance from the ever adaptable Meryl Streep, this is the most likeable and endearing comedy to date for writer/director/star Albert Brooks. His satirical edge, so sharp in his three previous films -- Real Life (1979), Modern Romance (1981), and Lost in America (1985) -- seems at first glance to have been dulled, even if his funny bone is still in perfect working order. But Brooks is still mocking the human race; it's just that his humor has become gentler, suggesting that his longtime bitterness has evolved into a bemused, perceptive wisdom. Those who have become addicted to the Brooks oeuvre and its underlying neurotic cynicism might be dismayed that their favorite artistic pessimist has created a film that can be labeled heartwarming. But most Brooks fans will be delighted to find intact the brand of raw, naked honesty about the writer/director's own shortcomings they expect, treated with a tender forgiveness that's a new development to be sure, but an entirely welcome one. Peopled with memorable supporting players (particularly Rip Torn as a gruff but amiable legal eagle), and overflowing with creative ideas about the afterlife and its machinations, Defending Your Life amounts to a must-see film from one of the funniest, most under-appreciated filmmakers of our time. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Shirley MacLaine - Herself; Wil Albert - Game Show Contestant; Newell Alexander - Julia's Judge; Sage Allen - Game Show Contestant; Gary Ballard - Mr. Wadworth; Shana Ballard - Julia's Daughter; Rachel Bard - Julia's Judge; Jennifer Barlow - Talk Show Guest; Gary Beach - Car Salesman; Roger Behr - Comedian; Carol Bivins - Daniel's Mother; Beth Black - Soap Opera Woman; Arell Blanton - Fire Marshall; Bob Braun - Talk Show Host; Ernie Brown - Ernie; Scott S. Bullock - Daniel's Father; Sidney Chankin - Used Car Salesman; Cathleen Chin - Ticket Counter Agent; Glen Chin - Sumo Wrestler; Julie Cobb - Tram Guide; Ron Colby - Majestic Doorman; Clarke Coleman - Knight; Joseph Darrell - Maitre d'; Raffi Di Blasio - Daniel as a Boy; Mark Dunlap - Tram Port Attendant; Michael Durrell - Agency Head; James Eckhouse - Jeep Owner; Eric Ehasz - Child in Schoolyard; Cliff Einstein - Julia's Prosecutor; James Ekim - Native; Greg Finley - Used Car Salesman; Art Frankel - Arthur; Dennis Germain - Tram Driver; Mary Pat Gleason - Waitress; Maxine Hicks - Woman on bus; Kristopher Kent Hill - Bully; Tommy Inouye - Sushi Chef; Nurit Koppel - Daniel's Date; Hal Landon, Jr. - Man in Past Lives Pavilion; Ida Lee - Woman in Past Lives Pavilion; Lillian Lehman - Daniel's Judge; James MacKrell - Game Show Moderator; Chris Macris - Julia's Son; James Manis - Eduardo; Joey Miyashima - Casio Tipster; Mary Mukogawa - Sushi Hostess; Clayton Norcross - Soap Opera Man; James Paradise - Stage Manager; Samee Park - Sushi Chef; Jerry Prell - Banquet Manager; David Purdham - Peter; Marilyn Rockafellow - Helen; Vernon Roguen - Tram Port Attendant; Matthew Scharch - Daniel as an Infant; Peter Schuck - Stan; Lisa Sears - Tram Port Attendant; Alex Sheafe - Martin; Kagko Shikami - Sushi Chef; Toshio Shikami - Head Sushi Chef; Sharlie Stuart - Susan; Ken Thorley - Frank; Noley Thornton - Victorian Girl; Leonard Turner - Sam; George D. Wallace - Daniel's Judge; Susan Walters - Daniel's Wife; Tim Winters - Porter; Barbara Claman; Mark Saks; Ethan Randall - Steve
Credit
Richard Reynolds - Art Director, Robert Grand - Co-producer, Deborah L. Scott - Costume Designer, Albert Brooks - Director, David Finfer - Editor, Herb Nanas - Executive Producer, Michael Gore - Composer (Music Score), Ida Random - Production Designer, Allen Daviau - Cinematographer, Michael Grillo - Producer, Linda de Scenna - Set Designer, Thomas D. Causey - Sound/Sound Designer, Albert Brooks - Screenwriter
Daniel Miller (Albert Brooks) dies in a car accident on his birthday and is sent to the afterlife. He arrives in Judgment City, a purgatory-like waiting area populated by the recently-deceased of the western half of the United States, where he is put "on trial for being afraid." Daniel and the rest of the recently-deceased are offered many Earth-like amenities in the city while they undergo their judgment processes, from all-you-can-eat restaurants (which cause no weight gain) to bowling alleys and comedy clubs.
As explained to Daniel, people from Earth use so little of their brains (3-5%) that they spend most of their lives functioning on the basis of their fears. "When you use more than 5% of your brain, you don't want to be on Earth, believe me," explains Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), Daniel's defense attorney. If the Judgement court determines that Daniel has conquered his fears, he will be sent on to the next phase of existence, where he will be able to use more of his brain and thus be able to experience more of what the universe has to offer. Otherwise, his soul will be reincarnated on Earth to live another life in another attempt at moving past fear. In the process, he may advance up the universe's proverbial food chain.
Daniel's judgment process is presided over by two judges (played by Lillian Lehman and George D. Wallace). Diamond argues that Daniel should move onto the next phase, against Diamond's formidable opponent, Lena Foster (Lee Grant), who Diamond informs Daniel is known as "the Dragon Lady". Each utilizes video-like footage from selected days in the defendant's life, which Diamond and his opponent show during the proceedings to illustrate their case.
During the procedure, Daniel meets and falls in love with Julia (Meryl Streep), a woman who lived a seemingly perfect life of courage and generosity, especially compared to his. The proceedings do not go well for Daniel. Foster shows a series of episodes in which Daniel did not overcome his fears, as well as various other bad decisions. The final nail in his coffin, it seems, is when Foster, on the last day of arguments, plays footage of his previous night with Julia, in which he declines to sleep with her, for what Foster believes is his same lack of courage. It is ruled that Daniel will return to Earth. Meanwhile, Julia is judged worthy to move on.
Daniel finds himself strapped in on a tram to return to Earth, when he spots Julia on a different tram across the tram lanes. On a seemingly spur-of-the-moment impulse, he unstraps himself, escapes from the moving tram, and risks injury to stow away on Julia’s. Although he cannot enter it at first, the entire event is being monitored by both Bob Diamond and Lena Foster, who convince the judges that this display of courage has earned Daniel the right to move on. They open the doors on Julia’s tram, allowing Daniel in, reuniting him with Julia and allowing them both to move on to their next phases of existence together.
Video releases
Defending Your Life was released on VHS and Laserdisc in early 1992. Both of these editions have since gone out of print. Warner Bros. Home Video released a DVD on April 3, 2001, in a cardboardsnap case. It features 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen formatting, and subtitles in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Apart from cast and crew information and the film's theatrical trailer, the DVD contains no extras.
Reception
Variety called it an "inventive and mild bit of whimsy" in which Brooks has a "little fun with the Liliom idea of being judged in a fanciful afterlife, but he doesn't carry his conceit nearly far enough."[1]Roger Ebert called it "funny in a warm, fuzzy way" and a film with a "splendidly satisfactory ending, which is unusual for an Albert Brooks film."[2]The New York Times called it "the most perceptive and convincing among a recent spate of carpe diem movies"— a reference to films such as Dead Poets Society (1989), Field of Dreams (1989), and Ghost (1990).[3]Richard Schickel wrote:[4]
Defending Your Life is better developed as a situation than it is as a comedy (though there are some nice bits, like a hotel lobby sign that reads, WELCOME KIWANIS DEAD). But Brooks has always been more of a muser than a tummler, and perhaps more depressive than he is manic. He asks us to banish the cha-cha-cha beat of conventional comedy from mind and bend to a slower rhythm. His pace is not that of a comic standing up at a microphone barking one-liners, but of an intelligent man sitting down by the fire mulling things over. And in this case offering us a large slice of angel food for thought.
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, and as of 2009 holds a 96% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes (based on 27 reviews).[5]
The film was not a box office success, grossing about $16 million in the United States. It received three Saturn Award nominations for Best Actress (Meryl Streep), Best Fantasy Film, and Best Writing (Albert Brooks).[6]
