The Couch Critic LogoThe Couch Critic
MoviesTV ShowsTrendingTop ReviewedWhat to Watch

The Couch Critic

Your go-to destination for honest movie and TV show reviews from a passionate community of critics.

Discover

  • Trending
  • Movies
  • TV Shows
  • What to Watch

Community

  • Reviews

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Cookie Policy
© 2025 The Couch Critic. Made by movie enthusiasts in New Zealand.Built by Hayden Thorn
Cookie Settings
This application uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.
Defending Your Life
Defending Your Life

Defending Your Life

March 22, 1991
1h 51m
Comedy
Fantasy
Romance
Drama
Critics
85/100
Story
82/100
Acting
88/100
Cinematography
90/100
Soundtrack
80/100

Is there love after death? After he dies suddenly, the hapless advertising executive Daniel Miller finds himself in Judgment City, a gleaming way station where the newly deceased must prove they lived a life of sufficient courage to advance in their journey through the universe. As the self-doubting Daniel struggles to make his case, a budding relationship with the uninhibited Julia offers him a chance to finally feel alive.

Where to Watch

Rent
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Buy
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Streaming availability data powered by JustWatch.

Details

Director
Albert Brooks
Cast
Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Lee Grant, Michael Durrell, James Eckhouse, Gary Beach, Julie Cobb, Peter Schuck, Time Winters
Release Date
March 22, 1991
Production
Geffen Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures

Rating Distribution

User Ratings

5 Stars65%
1235
4 Stars25%
475
3 Stars8%
152
2 Stars2%
38
1 Stars0%
0
Total: 1,900 ratings

Loading reviews...

Similar Movies

Life Stinks
Movie

A rich businessman makes a bet he can survive on the streets of a rough Los Angeles neighborhood for 30 days completely penniless. During his stay he discovers another side of life and falls in love with a homeless woman.

Life Stinks

0

56%
The Holy Mountain
Movie

The Alchemist assembles together a group of people from all walks of life to represent the planets in the solar system. The occult adept's intention is to put his recruits through strange mystical rites and divest them of their worldly baggage before embarking on a trip to Lotus Island. There they ascend the Holy Mountain to displace the immortal gods who secretly rule the universe.

The Holy Mountain

0

76%
99 Francs
Movie

Paris, France, 2001. Octave Parango, a young advertiser working at the Ross & Witchcraft advertising agency, lives a suicidal existence, ruled by cynicism, irresponsibility and debauchery. The obstacles he will encounter in developing a campaign for a new yogurt brand will force him to face the meaning of his work and the way he manages his relationship with those who orbit around his egotistic lifestyle.

99 Francs

0

66%
Casper
Movie

Casper is a kind young ghost who peacefully haunts a mansion in Maine. When specialist James Harvey arrives to communicate with Casper and his fellow spirits, he brings along his teenage daughter, Kat. Casper quickly falls in love with Kat, but their budding relationship is complicated not only by his transparent state, but also by his troublemaking apparition uncles and their mischievous antics.

Casper

0

63%
The Tree of Life
Movie

The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.

The Tree of Life

0

67%
A Time to Kill
Movie

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

A Time to Kill

0

74%
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Movie

Amiable slackers Bill and Ted are once again roped into a fantastical adventure when De Nomolos, a villain from the future, sends evil robot duplicates of the two lads to terminate and replace them. The robot doubles actually succeed in killing Bill and Ted, but the two are determined to escape the afterlife, challenging the Grim Reaper to a series of games in order to return to the land of the living.

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

0

63%
Martyrs of Striving
Movie

When Death wants to bring the plague to Württemberg in 1349, he has not reckoned with the two guard soldiers Volckel and Utz, who engage him in a heated argument about plague ordinances and entry regulations.

Martyrs of Striving

0

0%
Camino Al Cielo
Movie

A girl with autism and her best friend run away from home in search of her mother with the only clue that she is in "heaven".

Camino Al Cielo

0

10%
Beetlejuice
Movie

A newly dead New England couple seeks help from a deranged demon exorcist to scare an affluent New York family out of their home.

Beetlejuice

0

74%
Archive
Movie

2038: George Almore is working on a true human-equivalent AI, and his latest prototype is almost ready. This sensitive phase is also the riskiest as he has a goal that must be hidden at all costs—being reunited with his dead wife.

Archive

0

63%
The Swerve
Movie

The dark secrets of Holly's seemingly perfect life are exposed when an unwanted intruder spins her life out of control forever.

The Swerve

0

66%