Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009) (V)

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writers:

Stephen Godchaux (writer)
John Masius (writer)

Release Date:

17 February 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

Plot:

After the departure of Rube Sofer, a new head reaper named Cameron Kane takes over. He's a slick businessman...

Plot Keywords:

Solar Power | Keeping Secret | Death Of Pet | Black Comedy | Shot To Death

Cast

Ellen Muth	...	George Lass
Callum Blue	...	Mason
Sarah Wynter	...	Daisy Adair
Jasmine Guy	...	Roxy Harvey
Britt McKillip	...	Reggie Lass
Christine Willes	...	Delores Herbig
Cynthia Stevenson	...	Joy Lass
Henry Ian Cusick	...	Cameron Kane
Crystal Dahl	...	Crystal
Jordan Hudyma	...	Hudson Hart
Vlasta Vrana	...	Gregor
Shenae Grimes	...	Jennifer Hardick
James Bradford	...	Limo Driver
Danette Mackay	...	Sheryl (as Danette MacKay)
Luis Oliva	...	Thief

Also Known As:

Dead Like Me (USA) (TV title)
Dead Like Me: The Movie (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sexual content and violence.

Runtime:

USA:87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | Netherlands:6 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Trivia:

Sarah Wynter takes the role of Daisy Adair, previously played by Laura Harris in the series. In "24" (2001) the two actresses played sisters.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A green bin knocked over is full of metal cans and plastic bottles. Green bins are meant for compost while cans and bottles should be put in blue bins.

Quotes:

Delores Herbig: It's amazing how such a small creature could fit into something so big!
George Lass: Well, Murray had a big heart.
George Lass: [Thinking] And Cameron was a big ass.

Movie Connections:

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

Soundtrack:

Better Off Dead

Fun and satisfying followup to a great show

I'm a fan of the original show, so reading the (rather negative) reviews here at IMDb I had very low expectations for _Dead Like Me: Life After Death_. I mean -- no Rube? A different Daisy? George looks different? Why should I even bother to rent this? But I did -- and I'm happy to report that _DLM:LAD_ is a really good movie, *much* better than you'd think reading about it here. The stuff that I thought would bug me (no Rube etc) didn't matter at all. There are two major plot lines and both are engaging and well-written. Without giving anything away, one of the plots involves George's mom and sister; I always thought the "George's family" segments dragged in the original show, but in the movie George's sister Reggie has grown up and she brightens the screen whenever she appears. The writing is good and a couple of lines had me on the floor ("je ne sais quoi"), plus there are a number of "we always wanted to see *that*!" moments which I won't spoil for you.

Yes, George looks older but her new look grew on me pretty quickly. If I had to make one change, I'd have added more exposition about Crystal, but maybe some things are never meant to be known.

In short: thumbs up, a good movie following up on a wonderful show.