Defending Your Life (1991)

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Daniel (Albert Brooks) dies and must defend the way he lived his life -- with the assistance of afterlife attorney Rip Torn -- in order to avoid a further cycle of reincarnation. This is essentially an easy-watching rom-com, set in a sort of corporate afterlife resort a little like The Good Place. Brooks (and love interest Meryl Streep) are both charming, effortlessly enjoyable through a series of comic set-pieces. Romantic comedies typically feature at least one major interpersonal crisis, but there's none of that emotional trauma here; even Daniel's trial is at worst processional.

There's a scene early on where Daniel, on a tram, is asked by an elderly woman if he has time to hear a story about her cat. That's this movie in a nutshell: a lazy ride on a weekday morning away from work, nothing better to do but listen to a funny story. Pure relaxation.

- Sam - 2021-06-27 13:13:45