Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Bannan i

  
  DUDE DLM = I'm so there. *** Post-viewing edit: All DLM fans will see this as the unthinkable, one last lengthy as fuck episode drawn out to answer some questions that left us pondering and make us laugh again with old friends. A sweet little story, mixed with enough of that… More
  DUDE DLM = I'm so there. *** Post-viewing edit: All DLM fans will see this as the unthinkable, one last lengthy as fuck episode drawn out to answer some questions that left us pondering and make us laugh again with old friends. A sweet little story, mixed with enough of that reaper humour we so miss. :]

• Martin B

  
  A disappointing epilogue to another great cancelled-too-soon show. It's always a pleasant surprise when a show gets a posthumous chance to wrap things up or even just continue the story after its run has ended. But here they may have been better off letting things be. Two of… More
  A disappointing epilogue to another great cancelled-too-soon show. It's always a pleasant surprise when a show gets a posthumous chance to wrap things up or even just continue the story after its run has ended. But here they may have been better off letting things be. Two of the five leads are missing - Sarah Wynter takes over as Daisy, but is a pale imitation of Laura Harris' version. Mandy Patinkin's Rube has simply been written out. Instead they introduce Cameron, played by "Lost"'s own Desmond, Henry Ian Cusick. So much potential here, but his character is barely present, never really explained, and is just a waste of viewers' time and Cusick's talent. The plot can't decide if it wants to simply be another episode of the show or something bigger, and spends its time waffling between the two, so it fails on both counts. It just barely touches on some larger issues and ideas, and then suddenly decides to wrap that up and get back to a simpler story. Still, I guess I'd rather see a less-than-stellar "Dead Like Me" than none at all. It was a fun show with an entertaining cast of characters. I only wish the movie could have stayed more in line with the original series' quality and writing.

• Robert C

  
  As a fan of the series, I was excited that we would finally have a little closure for these characters that I'd grown so fond of. While it was enjoyable to see them all again...there was just something missing (and not just Rube). It just didn't have the same feeling… More
  As a fan of the series, I was excited that we would finally have a little closure for these characters that I'd grown so fond of. While it was enjoyable to see them all again...there was just something missing (and not just Rube). It just didn't have the same feeling that the series did and ultimately it just felt like a sad attempt to make a few bucks as opposed to an opportunity to "tie up some loose ends" for it's fans.

• Steve K

  
  I wanted to love this, since I loved the show. While it was great to see all of the characters again, something was truly missing from the proceedings (and I don't just mean Mandy Patinkin). The magic was also diminished. Props to a game case for doing their best.

• Dean L

  
  One of my all time favorite shows cancelled way before its time is brought up on the way to purgatory and reincarnated as a shade of its former self. I was so excited to see that they were bringing this back about and then noted Mandy Patinkin's absence. His character and the… More
  One of my all time favorite shows cancelled way before its time is brought up on the way to purgatory and reincarnated as a shade of its former self. I was so excited to see that they were bringing this back about and then noted Mandy Patinkin's absence. His character and the interaction with the whole cast (not just our little "peanut") was integral to the chemistry of the show. Missing him brings this whole project down quite a bit though it looks as though he made the right choice. Also, Sarah Wynter did a terrible job replacing Laura Harris as Daisy. Was it open calls at the trailer park? Even Stewart Coupland's fantastic soundtrack is missing! The writers took all of the "kitschy" parts of the characters and rolled them out before the audience bereft of the heart and soul invested in them during the show. What is brought to life here is a meager attempt to assuage the diehard fans (like myself) and if you are one of those fans I cannot see how this palaver would leave you satisfied. When I finished the film I needed to go back and watch the last episode from season 2 in order to cleanse my palette and remember what I loved so dearly about it. Let me note, you must have been a fan of the show to understand this movie. That being said-Watch the show and skip this film. To anyone who thinks this "film" did justice to the series I challenge you to go back and find even one episode that was not far superior to this sloppy incarnation. The loose ends that it did tie up were better left to the imagination if this was the best they could come up with. Thanks for the memories.

• Dann M

  
  Dead Like Me: Life After Death is a fun and witty comedy, but has issues delivering a compelling story. This feature follows a group of grim reapers as they shirk their responsibilities and deal with the consequences. Several of the original series cast members have returned,… More
  Dead Like Me: Life After Death is a fun and witty comedy, but has issues delivering a compelling story. This feature follows a group of grim reapers as they shirk their responsibilities and deal with the consequences. Several of the original series cast members have returned, including Ellen Muth, Callum Blue, and Britt McKillip, and are joined by a few new actors, including Sarah Wynter and Henry Ian Cusick. Unfortunately, the story isn't really congruent with the television series, as the characters have already dealt with most of these issues previously. The cast changes also disruptive the flow from series to feature film. Still, the film manages to recapture some of the clever wit and insightfulness that the show was known for. Dead Like Me: Life After Death is a fun and entertaining film, even though it has problems delivering something fresh and new.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]"Dead Like Me: Life After Death" starts on a sad note with Der Waffle Haus burning down to the ground, leaving goofy reapers George(Ellen Muth), Mason(Callum Blue), Roxy(Jasmine Guy) and Daisy(Sarah Wynter, hopelessly trying to replace Laura Harris)… More
  [font=Century Gothic]"Dead Like Me: Life After Death" starts on a sad note with Der Waffle Haus burning down to the ground, leaving goofy reapers George(Ellen Muth), Mason(Callum Blue), Roxy(Jasmine Guy) and Daisy(Sarah Wynter, hopelessly trying to replace Laura Harris) without any place to eat breakfast. Even worse, their supervisor, Rube, has gone missing, rumored to have been promoted, leaving Cameron Kane(Henry Ian Cusick), an investment banker who died on 9/11, in charge.(I was wondering if reaping one soul is such a chaotic enterprise, then what about thousands? But I digress...) Instead of Rube's post-it notes, he assigns the cases by text messaging. But George's first case of the day, Hudson Hart(Jordan Hudyma), who goes to high school with George's younger sister Reggie(Britt McKillip, who has grown up a lot in the past five years), turns out to be a bust.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]With its own uniquely inventive mythology, the television series "Dead Like Me" was an enjoyable coming of age tale about getting a job, moving out of home for the first time and making new friends. So what if George was dead? Almost as good as the original series but more serious, "Life After Death" picks up five years later with pretty much the same cast and characters.(Minor note: I do miss the original opening title sequence.) The major difference being the absence of Rube(Mandy Patinkin) who kept everybody in line with a gentle hand and represented an orderly universe. As one of his crew, George, who still works for Happy Time Temps, is the most mature of a bad bunch which I think is what the ambiguous ending is all about. [/font]

• Lesley N

  
  When you die you might get to go to "the next place" (wherever that is) or you might get to be a reaper, shepherding the newly dead to where they're going. A fairly bland follow-up to the two-season TV series, only for completionists.

• Daniel P

  
  While never coming close to the best episodes of the TV series, this film is still, mostly, a success. By continuing to play with its own universe, something the series did brilliantly, we get lots of exciting new information, twists, turn and character development. Star of the show… More
  While never coming close to the best episodes of the TV series, this film is still, mostly, a success. By continuing to play with its own universe, something the series did brilliantly, we get lots of exciting new information, twists, turn and character development. Star of the show is, oddly, Reggie, and Britt McKillip (now 'all grown up') is impressive. The ending is also pitch perfect, and sets things up nicely for a continuation, which we probably won't get. More later.

• FanGirl B

  
  This movie is just so painful. If you were a fan of the show you may actually want to skip this movie - no Rube and a new and significantly crapified Daisy (I think the writers/actress just had NO clue about who Daisy was in the show - they turned her into a vacant bimbo). And if… More
  This movie is just so painful. If you were a fan of the show you may actually want to skip this movie - no Rube and a new and significantly crapified Daisy (I think the writers/actress just had NO clue about who Daisy was in the show - they turned her into a vacant bimbo). And if you weren't a fan of the show I can't see any reason to start with this movie - if you are curious about the film, start with the TV show - I would say the show is 100 times better than the film but 100 times zero is zero.

• Angela A

  
  I wanted it to be so much better. :(

• Sunil J

  
  So Rube moves on and Henry Ian Cusick from Lost takes over as boss of the reapers and he couldn't care less. Thumbs down. Every one of the Reapers seem to waste most of their time re-learning lessons they learned in the show. Lame. Although Daisy Adair took some getting… More
  So Rube moves on and Henry Ian Cusick from Lost takes over as boss of the reapers and he couldn't care less. Thumbs down. Every one of the Reapers seem to waste most of their time re-learning lessons they learned in the show. Lame. Although Daisy Adair took some getting used to, I really began to like her but the actress that replaces her in the movie is God-awful and her moments on screen are just awkward. [barf] Ellen Muth as George has moments where she looks like a bag lady throughout with her unkempt hair and whatever possible face work and definite lip work she's had in the last 4 years. The Reggie story is weird and the George/Reggie story goes to a place that borders on unforgivable. WTF? 2 stars might be a little generous but I think it's totally worth watching for Delores Herbig and the last 10 minuter or so, which really was quite a bit like something you'd have seen on the show

• Laurence C

  
  I can very much appreciate the good will behind the idea of a DTV follow-up to a highly underrated series, especially one that has been criminally aborted. But good will alone does not make a good film, and in those regards, Dead Like Me : Life After Death is almost complete failure.… More
  I can very much appreciate the good will behind the idea of a DTV follow-up to a highly underrated series, especially one that has been criminally aborted. But good will alone does not make a good film, and in those regards, Dead Like Me : Life After Death is almost complete failure. It's a real shame. Really. Without a doubt, the Dead Like Me series had proven itself as a deliciously sardonic take on life and death, and established a fun, elaborate set of rules concerning its gimmicky fantasies in just two seasons. Not known for its subtlety and certainly not for its family-friendly content, the program nevertheless excelled in drawing laughs (and even morals) from gleefully macabre situations and peppery character exchanges. And by chosing to present some closure to the show's most passionate fans, a nifty little feature-length conclusion was not by any means a bad idea. But was the target that hard to hit? Or rather, were the potential screw-ups that tough to avoid? Not that I have any sympathy for the minds behind this flat, stodgy reheat of the original show's flashiest elements. Even if one excuses the absence of two-fifths of the brilliant lead cast members, the results are profoundly embarassing. First and foremost without a clue how to blend tones, director Stephen Herek makes a very poor use of the slightly higher production values, lensing his feature in-between television and, well, bad television. Most closeups are used in all the wrong places, calling unneeded attention to shallow conversations; the dialogue, limp and obvious, is strictly shot reverse-shot; the tacky scene transitions and sped-up footage taken from the series are cheap and redundant here; the phony CGI blends rather badly with the bigger sets, yada, yada yada. It's really terribly directed, using all of the beloved TV show's ticks to spice up its lazy mechanics, and if it weren't for a few brief imaginative touches (the opening graphic novel, one Rube Goldberg death, a narratively interesting conclusion, etc.), it would be nothing short of just horrid. But I could have easily forgiven the clumsy directing if it wasn't backed by equally clumsy writing, though to be honest, the screenplay is not clumsy as much as it is uninspired. It's like they didn't even try. Before even getting into the butchering of genuinely likeable characters, I will lean on the *gasp* extremely flaccid plotting. It's a bad sign when one cannot even remember what the film's main conflict was about-- and Dead Like Me : Life After Death sure as hell makes sure nothing too important is going on. Going through tremendously unexciting motions, it uses patterns that not only repeat some of the show's episodes but also crushes the rules that were previously established. Add to that chunks of contrived melodrama and plenty of situational incoherences, and you've got yourself a screenplay that deserves to be reworked from scratch, or worse, a plot that could be an okay 22-minute episode from the second season. What really kills this project to death, though, is how they handle most of the characters this time. Callum Blue's Mason, once a joyfully clueless but ocassionally witty druggie, does nothing to come across as sympathetic here, barely even existing inside the film's narrative. Jasmine Guy's badass Roxy tends to hit the same notes of hilarity, but she goes through such an ass-stupid plot point her persona barely recovers from it. To our despair, Cynthia Stevenson as Joy (the series' big emotional arc) is surprisingly absent from the film, leaving much more place to Britt McKillip's Reggie, who's grown to be a peculiarly decent actress inhabiting probably the only character 'change' to prove itself successful. The two lowest points are unquestionably Henry Ian Cusick as Cameron Kane, an awful, almost non-existant villain, and Sarah Wynter as the new Daisy, possessing zero charisma while stuck with quite possibly the most appalling dumbing-down ever of a character through transition. Mandy Patinkin and Laura Harris, your presences are sorely missed. Ellen Muth, though, is just as good as she was before, and let me tell you it's a relief to find out her dry humour and whatthefuck-stance is left intact among all the crappiness on display. By the time the final scene rolls and Metisse's ''Boom Boom Ba'' plays, it's like the film doesn't even deserve to use it. Untrue to Dead Like Me in spirit and manoeuvered with striking incompetence, it breaks my heart to say so, but this drivel totally misses the mark on nearly every level. I think we can safely say the series is, ahem, dead by now. Now let's mourn, and move on.

• Magnus X

  
  "I am so fucked." It's like a good long episode of the TV show but not as good. I didn't like the actress they replaced Laura Harris with, she was terrible. And I missed Mandy Patinkin. Good cast with Ellen Muth, Callum Blue, Jasmine Guy and Britt McKillip as… More
  "I am so fucked." It's like a good long episode of the TV show but not as good. I didn't like the actress they replaced Laura Harris with, she was terrible. And I missed Mandy Patinkin. Good cast with Ellen Muth, Callum Blue, Jasmine Guy and Britt McKillip as Reggie Lass.

• Mr. C

  
  I have waited a year & 1/2 for this movie. So I was more than a bit excited to finally see it. I am happy to say, it was good. I would LIKE to have given it 5 stars, but, I dont think it was excellent. Infact, compared to the series, its probably a bit of a disappointment for… More
  I have waited a year & 1/2 for this movie. So I was more than a bit excited to finally see it. I am happy to say, it was good. I would LIKE to have given it 5 stars, but, I dont think it was excellent. Infact, compared to the series, its probably a bit of a disappointment for fans. But as a stand alone project, its good. It certainly takes the shows aspects & uses them well. It does a lot of explaining at the start for newcomers, so you can atleast try to follow what was a 2 year TV program with some sense of logic. First, let me pick at the things I didnt like. I was thrown off by Georgia Lass (Ellen Muth) having a new voice in the starting scenes (which were done to a comic book styling & I personally did not really like...liked it even less when they used it again later in the program. Its like they were trying to fill film space.). But once the show started, her more familiar raspy (but not sounding like a 60 year smoker like in the opening credits) voice seemed to come back. The new "boss" Cameron Kane (Henry Ian Cusack) was annoying as hell, he didnt catch on to me in any way & I quite admitedly was rooting for his departure the whole way thru. He cant replace Rube, and it was one of the shows biggest flaws in trying to replace him. No more Der Waffle Haus, this was a staple of the show & if they do more movies, or bring the show back, they have to recreate it. It was sorely missed. I didnt like the new Happy Time, it looked too high end for HT. There is a scene where Delores (Christna Willes) & Georgia are interviewing someone with another co-worker, and its in a conference room that you would envision in fortune 500 companies, instead of a temp agency. Daisy Adair (Sarah Wynter...played by Laura Harris on the TV series) was abysmal, like Cameron/Rube, you cant replace the orginal & in this case they literally tried to. Daisy suddenly has no southern accent & seemed to go back to the shallow Daisy of the first few episodes, instead of the complex Daisy of the later episodes. There is a scene where she is angry & throws a glass, it looks like scripted grade 8 improv work instead of the action of someone truly mad. Now, what worked. The cast still were able to pull off their roles to perfection. Mason (Callum Blue) looked, acted and sounded like Mason most of the time. His character showed no change & his idiotic incompetent slacker mentality was placed in perfectly when needed. Roxy (Jasmine Guy) was in fine form & showed even more attitude than she did on many episodes of the show...which is great, since we are to believe she has this ass kicking attitude, which only was shown a handful of times in the series, here it was in almost every scene (except where she meets the Police commissioner & oddly turns Daisy like for a minute). Georgia was still great. Her dry sarcastic tone was a little lighter in this, but its still there. Her interaction with her sister was maybe too short (hey, 2 more scenes of that to build it up more woulda been great instead of cartoon drawings wasting film). Her expression & words at the end of the episode were perfect as she is showered in a downfall of post it notes. It also gives the viewers overwhelming hope, that if there is another movie, or return of the show that a much needed return may happen. It was both wonderful, and frustrating to me. Wonderful in the hint that there could be a return. Frustrating in the possible false hope, or worse yet, if there isnt anymore episodes, no way to tie up that loose end. The supporting cast of Delores & Joy (Cynthia Stevenson) were quite good when they had screen time. Reggie (Britt McKillip) got more screen time than probably ever befor e& she ran with it well. She has grown up, she has matured, and she has developed a life. Of course, she is still haunted by her sisters untimely death & when she is confronted with the possible death of someone else she is close to, she is pulled back in after possible just finally getting on with her life. I always liked Reggies character on the show, and was glad they gave her a lot more screen time here. Her interactions with Joy & Georgia was terrific & really added to the movie IMO. I was disappointed how little screen time was given to Crystal (Crystal Dahl) as Happy Times mainstay receptionist, and the fact there was no Kiffany at all. The movie opened up as many doors as it closes. Which is good for giving a new movie/return of the show room to move, but it is bad if there is no more as many questions are again unanswered. As an avid fan, I was going in, with high expectations & low hopes. I was demanding excellence, since thats what the show always brought. But I was fearful it wouldnt meet up to that level & be a giant dud. I am pleased to say that it was good enough that it will make most DLM fans happy. Could it be better? Yes. Could it have been worse, DEFINITELY. It was most certainly worth the 87 minutes I spent watching it thru the credits. Any DLM fan has to see it, if for no reason than to go down memory lane & keep up to tabs if there is a resurrection of the show (lets hope). I went in afraid of the idea I might have to give this movie a bad rating, but I was pleased enough that I can give it a near perfect rating. Hopefully the execs at MGM are taking notice of the great reviews its getting everywhere & bring the show back.........with Rube & the original Daisy.

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