Review: ‘Dead Like Me: Life After Death’

Travis:

It’s been a bit of a wait for the ‘Dead Like Me’ movie, which was supposed to tie up loose ends left frayed by the early cancellation of the Showtime series after just two seasons. I have to admit, I really enjoyed the Showtime series and hated to see it canceled. I own both seasons on DVD and was looking forward to seeing how the movie would wrap things up. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t really “wrap” anything up, so much as attempt to continue the series with a new plot element.

This new plot element is the reaper’s handler Cameron (Henry Ian Cusick), who replaces Rube (Mandy Patinkin) after he “got his lights”. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, “getting your lights” refers to when a reaper has met their quota of reaps and is allowed to continue on to Heaven, etc. The entire story of the movie centers around the relationship between the reapers (George, Mason, Daisy and Roxy) and Cameron. Later in the film, George manages to re-establish an awkward relationship with her little sister Reggie, but that’s all I’ll say about that.

Ellen Muth returns as George Lass and I have to say it doesn’t seem like she’s aged much at all. She still has her sharp wit and quick tongue, but George has become more of a by the book beacon of being morally and ethically right, whereas in the series she was always sort of the “green” reaper learning from her mistakes, often challenging the status quo. In the movie, her role becomes somewhat reversed as Cameron is much more casual and loose with the rules of reaping, compared to Rube, and the other reapers initially find a new sense of fun and freedom in this opportunity. In all honesty, this is what ruins the movie for me. I miss Rube and Mandy Patinkin was perfect for the role. This new guy is annoying and isn’t even in the movie as much as you would think. Presumably, they filmmakers were not able to secure Patinkin to return, which I am guessing is the reason the story took this direction in the movie.

Callum Blue, Sarah Wynters and Jasmine Guy all return to reprise their roles as Mason, Daisy and Roxy. The first half of the film has some promise at being an interesting mystery in regards to who Cameron is an why he works the way he does. However, the second half of the movie ultimately becomes more of a farce and the focus has to be placed on George’s issues with living after death, so to speak. Naturally, the story is told from George’s point of view and is her story, but it occasionally gets lost in the mix. Overall, elements of the original series still exist and make appearance in the movie, but much of the wit and charm and general mood of the series is absent from the movie, which I felt came off as a more watered down re-introduction to the series than an effort to wrap up the story and further it along in a meaningful way.

[Overall: 2.75 stars out of 5]

DVD Features:

• Audio Commentary by Director Stephen Herek