Posted by Travis Keune in Comedy, Direct to DVD, DVD Review, Review, Science Fiction | 6 comments
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
you could not have possibly watched this movie well at all, if at all. because **SPOILER**: cameron is not completely gone at the end, leaving Georgia as the new head reaper person.**SPOILER END** Also, there was a mistake in this article, because sarah wynter was not the original Daisy Adair, it was actually Laura Harris, who could not make a returning role as due to a project she was working on.
Contact me at jakehurley234@gmail.com for any questions or comments.
My apologies for the casting error. Sarah Wynter was not the original Daisy Adair. It was Laura Harris.
You also forgot to mention how horrible Sarah Wynters was. The loss of Mandy Patinkin was terrible enough, but watching Sarah Wynters try to recreate the underlying sadness in Laura Harris’ version of Daisy was just annoying. She kept scrunching up her face and rushing the lines… I missed Laura very much here, even more than Mandy because I had to keep watching her awkward replacement.
When Laura’s Daisy would do something selfish or shallow you could see that there was something below the surface… that she didn’t really want to be the person that she was. Sarah’s version was completely gutted. I HATED Daisy here. There were no redeeming qualities. She was just stupid and slutty and generally annoying. It’s like she thought she was being cast for a Disney direct-to-DVD movie.
Losing Mandy was a huge blow to a show that was centered around the relationships within the cast, but it was recoverable if the rest of the ensemble worked. Adding Sarah to the mix completely ruined it for me.
If I drew a timeline for how good I think the movie was I’d say it starts as an A and immediately plummets down to an F every time Sarah or Harry are on camera and slowly creeps back up to an A, only to plummet back down to an F when either one of them returns. If they’re going to write Rube off they should’ve done the same to Daisy.
I completely agree! I was super annoyed by Sarah Wynters and really liked Laura Harris (Daisy) and Mandy Patinkin (Rube). They should have been in the movie!
Just finished watching this movie and while I was majorly disappointed with Rube not being in the show-and Der Waffle Haus and Kiffany being 'killed off' so-to-speak by the place burning up- I did enjoy the movie as it filled a void I have felt for this show ever since it went off the air. (continued below)
BUT, saying that, it was truly disturbing and a most disappointing and major violation for the casting peole to have included the so-called new 'Daisy' actress into the storyline. She was the most appaulling and atrocious actress to have been chosen to take over the Daisy character. The storyline was a little off,yes,and the original characters did well with it and brought back that old feeling in me that loved this show. I mean, you cant leave and come back after 5 years and NOT expect major changes in their lives or environments. Roxy is a little softer,Mason a little less crazy, but Ellen's character grew yet stayed true to form,confirming her status to me of being a great under-appreciated actress. Bravo to the movie, but give that new Daisy 'her lights' and get her the hell out of the series and movies to come if there are any planned- she is, in my opinion, the one stand out cause for any comeback of the Dead Like Me series to fail. All in all, I give it 4 stars for effort and for giving me another chance to get that old feeling back for this show. ;)