Defending Your Life

Geffen. Director Albert Brooks; Producer Michael Grillo; Screenplay Albert Brooks; Camera Allen Daviau; Editor David Finfer; Music Michael Gore; Art Director Ida Random

Albert Brooks
Meryl Streep
Rip Torn
Lee Grant
Buck Henry
Shirley MacLaine

Defending Your Life is an inventive and mild bit of whimsy from Albert Brooks. The former standup comedian 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.

Brooks plays his familiar role of a neurotic, warm-hearted, insecure, bull-headed, upper-middle class mensch who, in the opening reel, dies after crashing his showroom-fresh BMW smack into a bus. The unlucky fellow instantly finds himself being whisked off by tram to Judgment City, a white-bread sort of resort community in which a prosecutor and defender present scenes from the life of the deceased to two judges.

The victim is forced to watch particularly embarrassing moments from his life while listening to a torrent of vilification from the prosecutor (Lee Grant) and just a measure of defence from his cheerleader (Rip Torn). Lending all of this some meaning is Meryl Streep, the dream woman who would be the love his life if only they weren't dead.

(Color) Available on VHS. Extract of a review from 1991. Running time: 112 MIN.

Variety is striving to present the most thorough review database. To report inaccuracies in review credits, please click here. We do not currently list below-the-line credits, although we hope to include them in the future. Please note we may not respond to every suggestion. Your assistance is appreciated.