Reception
Variety called it an "inventive and mild bit of whimsy" in which Brooks has a "little fun with the Liliom idea of being judged in a fanciful afterlife, but he doesn't carry his conceit nearly far enough." Roger Ebert called it "funny in a warm, fuzzy way" and a film with a "splendidly satisfactory ending, which is unusual for an Albert Brooks film." The New York Times called it "the most perceptive and convincing among a recent spate of carpe diem films"— a reference to films such as Dead Poets Society (1989), Field of Dreams (1989), and Ghost (1990). Richard Schickel wrote:
Defending Your Life is better developed as a situation than it is as a comedy (though there are some nice bits, the stand-up comedian asking Daniel how he died- "on stage, like you" and a hotel lobby sign that reads, WELCOME KIWANIS DEAD). But Brooks has always been more of a muser than a tummler, and perhaps more depressive than he is manic. He asks us to banish the cha-cha-cha beat of conventional comedy from mind and bend to a slower rhythm. His pace is not that of a comic standing up at a microphone barking one-liners, but of an intelligent man sitting down by the fire mulling things over. And in this case offering us a large slice of angel food for thought.
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and holds a 96% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes (based on 26 reviews).
The film was not a box office success, grossing about $16 million in the United States. It received three Saturn Award nominations for Best Actress (Meryl Streep), Best Fantasy Film, and Best Writing (Albert Brooks).
American Film Institute recognition:
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs - Nominated
Read more about this topic: Defending Your Life
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