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40 out of 46 people found the following comment useful :-
Well. a BETTER send off than ShowTime fgave it.., 5 February 2009

Author: Justin McGill (mcgill_j@yahoo.com) from Oklahoma, USA

I thought Dead Like Me was one of the... funniest.. saddest.. smartest.. and just quirkiest shows ever on the air. This film takes place, picking up 5 years later, where everyone left off.. mostly. Now the biggest complain has been the absence of Rube (Mandy Patinkin) as the boss.. a tragic loss to be sure. and the recasting of Sarah Wynter in the role of Daisy Adair, formerly filled by Laura Harris. I will only say.. not to give too much away.. but they got MOST of the cast back.. and a pretty decent.. I won't say it is a definitive conclusion, as it could be left open to more DTV films. But at least it felt there was a punctuation at the end of the sentence which had been hanging for almost half a decade.

I will be the first to admit the movie has its MAJOR problems.. but over all, rough edges and everything.. it is a pretty decent representation of what the best of the show offered, although not quite as adeptly written, or acted.. its much harder to fill in a 90 minute film with so many characters as opposed to a dozen hour episodes yearly. This does seem more done for the "fans" who've missed the show. and its still a welcome return, if not at its best.

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50 out of 76 people found the following comment useful :-
A Disappointing Conclusion, 3 February 2009

Author: Nick Young from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

If there is one thing that could be said of the television series of Dead Like Me, it's that it was made great by it's superb characters and a moving theme. Despite having a great premise, the plot was never the strong point of the series, sometimes undermined by inconsistencies and holes.

Now in 2009, Dead Like Me: Life After Death offers all of the same plot inconsistencies but with none of the excellent characters which made us fall in love with the original series. The characters in the film are extremely shallow, and altogether unfaithful to their originals. Of the original team of reapers who made it to this film (George, Roxy, Mason, Daisy), all but George are condensed in to a few clichés. In fact the presence of these characters only serves as a function of nostalgia, as their contribution to the story has been mangled and broken beyond comprehension.

The main story is told through George and Reggie, whose paths become intertwined after Reggie's secret boyfriend is critically injured in a road accident. The heart of the story explores the relationship between the sisters as George's identity is uncovered and Reggie reveals her true feelings towards the boy. There is a sub-plot involving the other reapers and the shady new head reaper Cameron, but it reads more like a collection of ideas and events than a cohesive story. After squeezing all of these ideas in to the short screen time, you're left with a sub-plot which is underdeveloped, inadequately explained and ultimately shallow. The Happy Time sections were as pointless as they were unnecessary, highlighting a failed attempt to incorporate Delores' character in to an already disjoint storyline.

The absence of Rube's character is tangible whilst watching the film. To make matters worse, the beginning of the film draws attention to his absence, only to abandon it a quarter of the way in. This only serves to emphasise his absence.

George's character is a mostly faithful reproduction from the series. However, a lack of character development diminishes her significance in the story. Despite being the main character, I'm left with a feeling that George's only purpose in this story was to play the supporting role for her sister.

Reggie's character has changed significantly from the original series. In fact one could be forgiven for mistaking the now 18 year old Britt McKillip as an entirely different actress. The once gawky, confused and insecure girl is replaced by a teenager who is just plain insecure. Despite this, it feels like an acceptable continuation of the original character. Ultimately, Dead Like Me: Life After Death is about the evolution of Reggie's character and her ability to finally accept the reality, inevitability and absoluteness of death. If it's closure from the series that you seek in this film, then it is at least granted to Reggie's character with moderate success.

Overall, Dead Like Me: Life After Death comes across as a disjointed set of events and ideas, lacking cohesion, direction and purpose. If you seek nostalgia then you will be disappointed by this film. If you seek closure then you will be disappointed by this film. It does however have an extremely cryptic ending, lending itself to the possibility of a sequel or new series. Unfortunately, I just can't escape the feeling that the golden goose is dead.

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41 out of 59 people found the following comment useful :-
Not as good as the show...but better than most movies & worth the time., 5 February 2009

Author: y2john from vancouver canada

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 10/10, but, I don't think it was excellent.

It certainly takes the shows aspects & uses them well. It does a lot of explaining at the start for newcomers, so you can at least try to follow what was a 2 year TV program with some sense of logic.

First, let me pick at the things I didn't 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. Also, the idea that reapers never change appearance is hard to swallow when Georgia clearly looks older than 18, and Daisy has changed noticeably. The new "boss" Cameron Kane (Henry Ian Cusack) was annoying as hell, he didn't catch on to me in any way & I quite admittedly 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 didn't 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 "good" but again, like Cameron/Rube, you cant replace the original & 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.

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 would of 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 isn't 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 before & 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 possibly 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 wouldn't 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).

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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22 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :-
Fun and satisfying followup to a great show, 17 February 2009

Author: jlpicard-3 from United States

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.

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19 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
It's OK, 18 February 2009

Author: matix_d from Canada

While it was nice to see the return of the show, this reeked of Straight to DVD production value.

The excessive use of slow-mo and transitional effects were annoying to me, the original series just had a more polished feel to it.

The story line was OK, while it was good they tied up the absence of Rube. His general presence was missed, he kept everyone grounded.

In all honesty this movie has lost some of the charm of the series that made it quirky and dark. I am not saying it's bad, I just think they could have done so much better with how long this has been in production.

And to anyone who may quip that I am looking to find fault I watched the series when it had it's run on TV and bought the DVD's when they came out. I love the series as much as the next person and I want to see it picked up again but not at the expense of the story and the ideals that made the series what it was.

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15 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
A Good Movie Haunted by Its Series, 17 February 2009

Author: Vincent Black from United States

I guess one could label me a fan of this series, since I own both season 1 and 2 DVD box sets and today I purchased this movie. However I am not here to put frosting on the cake. Any TV series is better than the movie from any point of view. Take into consideration that the writers can afford a few episodes that fail over a two year season. One tends to remember the great episodes and push aside the crappy the ones. So in a nutshell you cannot compare any movie to the series.

I was happy to see they managed to get about 80% of the original cast back after 5 years of doing nothing. I enjoyed the movie but it lacked revelations. There was no cosmic secrets answered about the show. It merely asked more questions and some to most of the characters seemed to take a back seat. I was hoping they would use the opportunity to expand on the "Reaper Society" and I kind of thought that was where the plot was heading but somehow failed to push through.

The focus of the film is on Georgia and Reggie and unfortunately characters like Mason, Roxy, and Daisy become less significant than they should be in this film. The subplot with Cameron Kane wasn't well developed and makes the movie fall short of the mark.

So why did I give the move a seven out of ten? That in my honest opinion is a "C" average. It is just OK but could have been better. Sadly due to the nature of the story that reapers never grow old they won't be able to make another. The actress Ellen Muth is showing her age. I sincerely hope she can move on to better roles but I am afraid she will always be haunted by the series and movie.

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17 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
Unbiased (as much as possible) Review Without Spoilers, 28 February 2009

Author: wireflight from United States

First of all, regardless what you think of the movie, if you haven't yet gotten both seasons of the series on DVD, by all means, get your copies of those as soon as possible & watch them!

Is change good or bad? Well, I suppose that can only be answered, "yes." You see, it matters what is being changed, & how that change manifests itself. Having so stated, I generally prefer the familiar – which means that I generally abhor change.

In the broadcast versions of Dead Like Me, we lost Betty Rhomer (Rebecca Gayheart) after 5 episodes, & though I didn't then share with her fans profound enthusiasm for her character or performance, I had grown accustomed to her, & I was deeply disappointed.

My initial reaction to the appearance of Daisy Adair (Laura Harris) was, "OMG, they've gone "replacement blonde" in an effort to boost ratings, using the 'sex sells' model in a show not only that isn't about sex, but also that doesn't have a significant sexual component." I thought at first that the show was ruined, but I kept watching; what I quickly discovered is that Harris is a most excellent actress & that the writers understood how to integrate Daisy into the DLM story.

That Harris is very easy on the eyes turned out to be a bonus – a perfect dessert to follow the substantial main course. In that case, every aspect of the change was surprisingly good.

That isn't to discount Gayheart, who is in every sense a fine actress, but to recognize that Harris earned her fans after Gayheart had already set the bar awfully high.

As the story unfolded, I was pleasantly amazed to discover the actors & writers taking the DLM experience to a level even higher than where the show began; then, in a flash, the de-orbiting toilet seat of fortune snuffed-out my favorite show.

Some time later, I was elated to discover there was being made a DLM movie & I looked forward to its theatrical release: all we DLM fans & I would be vindicated when the box office numbers were tallied. Then I learned the movie was going to be direct-to-DVD.

Okay, that's a minor setback – but as soon as Rube Sofer (Mandy Patinkin) starts bustin' chops in the trailer, when people get a chance to see ... WHAT? No Rube? & Daisy stays, but someone else is going to play her? I was immediately overwhelmed with the sensation that the DLM franchise had been lost: clearly, the universe had gone mad. Or had it?

I own the complete first season of Dead Like Me, two sets of the complete second season of Dead Like Me, & now I own the direct-to-DVD movie Dead Like Me: Life After Death. Yes, I've watched them all (plus every episode of the series as it aired on Showtime, & most or all of the SciFi rebroadcasts). Kudos to the team that edited the SciFi versions: they seamlessly replaced the "foul language," so that the censorship wasn't obvious.

Without spoilers: my overall impression of Dead Like Me: Life After Death is that, like the series, it is too short; by that, I mean that it left me wanting much, much more! But, isn't that the whole idea? There were some plot twists that I think were inevitable for reason of continuity, & it's always tough to overcome prejudice arising from actor substitution.

Pleasantly, the movie also focuses more on George Lass (Ellen Muth) than did the broadcast series. This is probably as much a result of the crutch principle as anything else, but it works in a way that really saves the movie.

"Saves"? Okay, maybe that's a bit strong: remember, I'm prejudiced by the broadcasts. In reality, there's an awful lot of development that happens through the series that doesn't readily translate through the movie format, & that requires compromises.

The makers of Dead Like Me: Life After Death brilliantly incorporated storyboards to aid in the transition between scenes & to bring the uninitiated up to speed without boring longtime fans of the series.

However, even these conceits left a lot to be condensed into its 87-minute runtime, & that means among the reapers that the roles of Daisy Adair (Sarah Wynter), Roxy Harvey (Jasmine Guy) & Mason (Callum Blue) are minimized & stereotyped.

Some purists will take issues with the scripting as it relates to character development within the movie. In the end, I think the directors & editors did the best that could reasonably be expected from a comparatively short feature movie format.

I urge the readers of this review to obtain for themselves a copy of the DLM direct-to-DVD movie Dead Like Me: Life After Death; even though it is set 5 years after the George's death, it works in several different ways: 1) It is a passably good introduction of the DLM series to the uninitiated; or, alternatively, 2) It is a passably good ending to the DLM story: if it goes no further, DLM fans won't feel completely cheated; or, alternatively, 3) It is an EXCELLENT bridge between the DLM series & future DLM productions.

Given the diversity of missions & objectives defined by the DLM fanbase, & Given the budgetary constraints & political battles that threatened to kill the project before it got the green light, plus the myriad hurdles that threatened its survival during production, & Given the post-production, mastering, manufacturing & distribution problems that cropped up, that this movie ever got distributed is barely less than a miracle, & those factors must be considered in any reasonable review of this movie.

I got mine through Amazon.com; if you haven't ordered your copy yet, order it today! Review, comments by The Wireflight Group // 20090228-2021

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9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
it's over, people, 31 May 2009

Author: sophiej468 from Northern California

as every DLM fan knows,things change. There comes a time to let it go, don't look back, move on. It's just a shame that the amateurs got hold of this, since they clearly don't understand what reaping is all about or what any reasonable end to this story would be. Actually, they do get it in their handling of Mandy Patinkin's unavailability to replay Rube, but apparently they weren't listening to themselves or they would have known how to deal with the absence of Laura Harris. Sarah Wynter is probably a perfectly nice person and decent actress but she is not the Daisy we came to love/hate. not even close. Henry Cusick as the new head reaper is as slimy as the script wants him to be, but what kind of warped sensibility wanted him to be that? It's lovely to see the grown up Britt McKillip, and making un-George a whole lot more attractive should have been done in the first place. Otherwise, nothing to see here, move along.

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7 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
A poorly written, hastily cast cash grab from MGM that doesn't extend, close out or do any justice to the series, 7 June 2009
Author: howTVshouldbe from star range: 1 - 4, expanded to 5 for classics

Network: Direct to DVD movie; Genre: Comedy/Drama; Content Rating: R (profanity, dark comic violence, sexual content); Available: DVD; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 – 4);

For reference I'd recommend any reader of this briefly skip over to my review of the original Showtime series "Dead Like Me", where the show's freshness, originality, creativity and strong voice inspired me to a 5 out of 5 star rating. The direct-to-DVD feature "Dead Like Me: Life After Death" opens with a well-done, but redundant re-cap of the show's premise already captured so well in creator Bryan Fuller's movie-quality Pilot for those unfamiliar with the series. But then again, if you're unfamiliar with the show you wouldn't be interested in this movie.

Stunned at the unexpected loss of former team leader Rube (Mandy Patinkin contractually unable to be in the film), workman-like grim reapers Georgia Lass (Ellen Muth), Roxy (Jasmin Guy), Mason (Calum Blue) and Daisy Adair (Sarah Wynter replacing "24" sister Laura Harris who was hopefully off making the far better horror/comedy "Severance") are whisked off to a new life managed by unsavory new boss Cameron (Henry Ian Cusik, "Lost"). All seems great at first, limos take them to an upscale restaurant replacing Der Waffle house and Cameron quickly replaces their trademark post-it notes with blackberries, but Cameron plays fast and loose with the reaper code of conduct and the new "do-what-you-feel" attitude starts to have dire results. The first of which causes George to miss a reap which traps a teenage boy in a coma and brings George face to face with the boy's secret girlfriend: her sister, Reggie (Britt McKillip all grown up now).

Series episodes were structured like a wheel, centered around a theme with every character branching off as a sprocket to illustrate a different element of that theme (a la Sex and the City). "Life" is all over the place. One minute it's about George's reluctance to take reaping into the 21st century and her distrust of Cameron, then it launches off into a story that is essentially a rehash of the season one episode "Reapercussions" (which in 45 minutes covered this ground with more imagination). It throws in a random subplot involving Delores (Christine Welles, not her usual shiny self) giving her cat Murray a swan song only because the two are fan favorites.

"Life after Death" is a shallow, cynical cash grab from MGM with a hastily assembled cast and a script, by showrunner John Masius and co-writer Stephen Godchiux, that could have used several trips back to the writer's room. "Dead" heads will be disappointed all around by this venture. For starters all of the characters have been hollowed out and turned into one-note bits dispensing cringe-inducing one-liners, particularly Mason who is now just a goof. Georgia is no longer the antisocial, sardonic voice of a generation, but a protagonist, functioning in society, doing what's right as any protagonist does.

Surprisingly enough, much of "Life" belongs to McKillip. Suddenly thrust into the lead, the young actress does a fine job with it, it's that – even in the series – the entire Joy/Reggie storyline was an unnecessary, and poorly conceived trapdoor escape from the fantasy of the grim reaping story that seemed to move the show backwards. In the series it gave the show one tiny toe grounded in domestic drama, by expanding it in the movie, it very often swallows the production entirely in melodrama. I can see teenage girls crying and screaming at each other anywhere, but I can't see a bizarre Rube Goldberg series of events set in motion by a Graveling that leads to someone's death anywhere but "Dead Like Me".

Speaking of the Gravelings, a certain surprise revelation regarding George and the Gravelings at the end of the 2nd season is disappointingly not addressed at all in "Life". From Mandy Patinkin's rock solid performance to Stewart Copeland's whimsical music to Laura Harris portraying a ditz like Daisy Adair with a perfect (and rare) steely-eyed determination that everything she says is right – there are more things that I can count, big and small, from the show that are missing from this production.

Maybe the most dispiriting thing about "Life" is how unnecessary it feels. Given the chance to bring a loved TV series back from the dead for a last hurrah is a golden opportunity and should inspire the showrunners to swing for the fences. "Life" looks like a tired afterthought that forgot what it used to do so well in the first place. It makes no effort to close the series out with a bang or to extend the stories into exciting new territories. Although, it is kind of fun to see the show's informal theme song, "Boom Boom Ba", making another appearance. "Dead Like Me" fans deserve a whole lot better than "Life After Death".

* ½ / 4

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11 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
A fitting end and (hopefully) a fantastic new beginning..., 4 February 2009

Author: danielhockley from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Right first off, I would have loved to give this movie 10/10 BUT I can't... I just can't.

The film was great, despite some reviews i have read who obviously watched the film with extremely high hopes, expecting nothing to have changed at all and to pick up exactly where the TV show left off answering some of the all important questions the fan base has been itching to answer ever since the series was laid to rest, which i admit would have been good BUT impossible...

Such examples of unanswered questions are: "how can George do *THIS*?", "why did *THAT* happen?", "will *XX* ever get with *XY*?". my point of blanking out the important part of the questions wasn't JUST to prevent spoilers BUT also to attempt a suggestion as to why they couldn't answer these questions in this film; the reason for making this film was to hopefully jump start the series OR failing that to appeal to the fan base the series had to start with. Now answering these questions in 90 minutes is just not feasible in either case, it wouldn't make sense to anyone that hasn't seen the series and so interest is lost... also the original fan base would either be annoyed at these questions (which we have been bugging ourselves with for what seems like millennia) being rushed and not really answered, or we would have closure (of sorts) and there are no active plot lines to continue the series with.

In my personal opinion the plot and new character (Cameron) were fine additions to a fantastic show!

Now where it unfortunately loses these 2 points are: Daisy... Daisy Adair (I am a big fan of Laura Harris, so Sarah Wynter's performance as Daisy just wan't good enough for me)...

All that aside if I have to put up with Sarah as Daisy and no Rube. That is a small price to pay to get this show back on the air.

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