Customer Reviews

Dead Like Me: Life After Death

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(34)
1 star:		(75)

 

 

I have to disagree with a lot of what people seem to be saying in their reviews. As a long time fan of the series, I actually found this to be fairly disappointing. I did not think the consistency of the characters was there throughout, and the storyline often seemed poorly tied together. Sometimes it seemed like they couldn't decide between making a movie for the fans and making a movie for the casual viewer who didn't know all the backstory.

Laura Harris is sorely missed. Couldn't they have waited until the timing worked out with her? Her replacement is trying very hard to measure up, but she doesn't quite cut it. I never felt like she had a full grasp on Daisy's character at all. Situations that Laura could have given meaning to came out stiff and one-dimensional.

Rube was also missed. At least they gave a valid reason for his absence.

As I said somewhere else: it's been too long and the magic is gone. Something was missing.

About the only character I felt was utterly perfect and herself 100% of the time was Dolores. And Murray. God bless you Murray Herbig.

As a die-hard fan of the series, I have to say that this movie is an insult.

Despite being written by two of the original series' regular writers, both the writing and the direction (new director) are truly painful. Daisy Adair is played by a different actress, Sarah Wynter, who doesn't hold a candle to Laura Harris, who played Daisy in the series. Rather than being a superficial, but talented and clever, materially-driven woman, Daisy is now nothing more than an air-headed wanna-be. Her character has been utterly destroyed. Meanwhile, the character Roxie apparently has no problem breezing past lines she never would have even come close to consider crossing previously. The plot stretches credulity past the breaking point, and is entirely unimaginative.

The one point of strong satisfaction from the movie is that Georgia finally reveals herself to her sister Reggie. While very satisfying, it also feels like committing a cardinal sin, and in any case it was an easy, low-hanging fruit for the writers to grab that certainly didn't involve any skill to come up with.

On the whole, the movie was extremely painful for me to watch. If it had been any other movie, I would have simply stopped watching after 20, 30 minutes tops; but I needed closure. But it was so bad, that my wife has said she's considering writing her own ending to the series, just so she could forget this one.

Don't buy this movie, unless you're such a die-hard fan that you actually don't care if it completely sucks (think Star Wars Episode I, only a bit worse). It simply isn't worth it.

Let me preface this review by saying that I am a HUGE fan of the original series. I was so excited when I heard a movie was being released that I pre-ordered it and waited with great anticipation until it arrived in my mailbox.

As I watched Dead Like Me, the movie, all I kept thinking was... is this it? I loved George and Dolores, but character-wise, that was it. I agree with others' review's on the "new" Daisy. She left a great deal to be desired, acting-wise and character-driven-wise. The plot and story line seemed disjointed and areas that could/should have been flushed out and exciting/entertaining/illuminating were just flat, boring and seemed "rushed" or glossed over.

There is so much more the writers could have done with this movie, if only to convince someone/anyone to revive the series, but apparently they were only interested in getting a paycheck and doing the least amount of work in the process. Or maybe the writers of this movie never actually "watched" the series. In any case, I CAN NOT recommend this movie to ANYONE who loves the series. It is a cheap attempt to make a buck and does nothing to be true to the series.

It is really a shame, because so much more could have been done by the writers and by the Daisy character. Rube's replacement, Cameron, was interesting to a small degree, but not enough character development there either to justify his ending comments that he did what he did to create chaos and see where the ripples in the pond led when he made people do the wrong thing. I mean, is he supposed to be a devil; truly evil?, or just simply misguided and "quirky?".

That being said, as usual, I loved Dolores Herbig and the whole idea of giving kitty one last Hurrah. You could probably do a decent flick just on her character alone!

The three best parts of the flick for me were:
(1) when Mason throws "another leg on the fire".
(2) The ending shot when our fav character looks skyward and says... "...."
(3) Skydiving with Murray. (That shot just killed me).

But that is not what the best parts of Dead Like Me, the movie should have been. Shame on the writers, producers, directors and marketers of this bomb! This could have been another "SERENITY", but instead it was just a "SNORITY".

By all means, we need to revive the series.... but by all means, too, stop making trash movies to sequel great series'.

If you LOVE the SERIES... Do NOT waste your money on this garbage. Wait til they revive the series, or at least make a better movie. Only, not with the same people that wrote this film! And maybe with an actress who can be true to the Daisy character that we all know and love! And let's get Mason back to his roots!

Now... where did I put my Post-It???

If a show has been over for 3 years, and didn't have a proper ending, WHY WHY WHY would you make a movie that doesn't tie up loose ends?

Once the film ended the only words we could think was "WHY did that need to be made."

I absolutely love the show. One of my top ten.

Why this movie fails:
-Loss of Rube. No characters seemed to even care that he was gone.
-Loss of Daisy and replaced by someone doing a bad impression of her.
-Dry boring script.
-Emotionless dialogue being delivered by cast.
- Different locations trying to be passed off as the originals.
- Threw out old reaping rules and stomped all over what was set up.
- 25 person cat funeral.
- Different cinematography didn't match old aesthetic.
- Wasn't made for fans, new comers wont enjoy.

Just bottom of the barrel production. I don't know why there are so many gleaming reviews. I think once more true fans see this wreck of a great show, the true ratings will come out.

Rewatch the series and pass on this.

I came across info that a direct to DVD movie was coming out and most of
the same people were going to be in it. I pre-ordered immediately, I couldn't wait!! My family loved this show so this was like a gift!

A gift that was horribly wrong and should never have been made. If this
had been a pilot episode, I would never have watched it again. The writing was terrible, it lacked something great that the series had. Rube
being gone and a different woman playing Daisy made it even more wrong.
The woman playing Daisy in this couldn't have been more out of place,
she wasn't pretty, her acting was terrible, she gave no life to Daisy
and she seemed more than a bit crazy most of the time. The old Daisy was definitely a narcissist but she had an endearing sadness about her that made her vulnerable. This actress had nothing to make you even like the character. The new "group leader" was about a subtle as a slap in the face. **SPOILER** The sex scene with him and Daisy that George walked in on was way over the top, you know that Daisy would never do something like that with the boss.

George was still the same, great, as was Dolores Herbig. Mason, while
still the same actor, seemed to just be going through the motions for
the pay check. Same with Roxy. She would never have fallen for the spell
of the new boss and broken the rules. That just wasn't her at all.

All in all, it was a waste of money. If they make any more of these I
won't be buying them. I know the whole story line was to show what would
happen if Reapers didn't follow the rules, all would become chaos and it
was a good idea. Somewhere along the line, though, it all fell short. I
guess the producers could take a que, the show ended on a good note,
don't try and resurrect what's dead. You may not like the way it comes
back. I couldn't have been more disappointed with this movie.

To start out, I LOVED the show. Every single episode. This movie, unfortunately, does not measure up at all. It is one of the worst films I have ever seen. I wish I could have my life back, the time that I WASTED watching this train wreck of a film.

The writing was bad, the story was weak, the new Daisy was awful, and the characters' actions simply didn't jive with what the viewer already knows about them.

The other actors tried their best with the material that they were given, but were not able to accomplish much. No one could. I hope they were at least paid well.

DO NOT PURCHASE OR WATCH THIS MOVIE! You will regret it.

As fans of the series for many years, I and all my friends eagerly sat down to watch the movie and were sadly very sorry we did.

Without any spoilers and with the understanding that everyone has a different taste in movies, I can share with you a few of our concerns:

With the exception of one or two, most of the characters did not act at all like their original TV counterparts, leading to much frustration for viewers.

The lack of some actors leaves the audience with a hole; feeling like "of course they will have ... before the end of the movie!", expecting but the movie never delivers.

Some ground rules we've all come to understand from the TV show were blatantly broken with no excuse, explanation or even attempt at reasoning.

And finally, none of the great story opportunities/unfinished plot lines from the show were even touched. This movie was an opportunity for so many answers, but none were given.

In the end the Dead Like Me movie was an extreme disappointment to those who loved the show. With nearly every aspect of the movie having deviated from what the show consisted of, and the poor, predictable plot, the fans didn't even get the enjoyment we all eagerly anticipated.

Where do I begin? Awful. Terrible. Biggest letdown ever. Like most reviewers here, I'm a big fan of the Dead Like Me show. Excellent writing, awesome acting, mind-blowingly original, etc. Everything the show succeeded at the movie sucks at.

1) 2/5 of the original main cast is gone, and they have the nerve to replace the unavailable Laura Harris with Sarah Wynter who is possibly the worst actress ever. Wynter tries to emulate Harris's portrayal but she doesn't even come close to Harris's award-worthy and brilliant performance in the tv show. Rube has moved on to whatever the Reapers eventually move on to so the new head Reaper is Cameron Kane, some slimy businessman who makes them use blackberrys instead of post-its. I love Desmond but here he's just no good. at least he's only in like 4 scenes, yet somehow is a major part of the overall "plot" if you can even call it a plot...

2) ...the "plot" which makes no sense and completely goes against everything the original show was about. kane explains to the Reapers that basically they can do whatever they want since they're dead, and that Rube's warnings of fire and brimstone if they broke the rules was actually complete bull. thus, the Reapers start doing whatever they want and breakin all the rules which totally contradicts one of the major themes of the series. i'm especially surprised at roxy who does some things here the original law-abiding and sensible roxy would NEVER do. the other major plot is that george reveals herself to reggie which AGAIN goes against the entire show's concept that they now have to move on and lead different lives. george's awkward and contrived bonding with reggie takes up like 1/2 the movie.

3) atrocious acting by everyone. wynter as i already said was vomit-inducing (i don't know why they just didn't wait til harris and patinkin were available, considering how much of the show is about the characters). callum blue who plays mason looks like he's just going through the motions without enthusiasm, ellen muth who plays george is more bored and manlier than ever, and jasmine guy who plays roxy just feels off her game. the acting is easily 1/2 of what made the tv show so phenomenal, but here they all just seem so uninterested in their roles.

i could keep going about how much of a slap in the face this movie is to loyal fans of the tv show, but i'll just get angrier. showtime really needs to make a public apology. i've always said they should bring back the tv show but if the movie is any indication of what the show would now be like, i say leave it alone and let it rest.

If you loved Dead Like Me and longed for a third season, I know it's awfully tempting to revisit the world of George, her fellow Reapers and the Waffle House.

Don't do it. Not only should you not buy Life After Death, you should not ever see it. Don't Netflix it, don't borrow it from a friend, don't Bit Torrent it, or even watch it when it eventually appears on cable. It is so bad it can darken your recollection of the original series. Banish Life After Death from your mind and pretend it doesn't exist, the way Godfather III or Aliens 3 don't exist.

How is it awful? Let me count the ways. It was not the producers' fault that Mandy Patinkin and Laura Harris weren't available, but their absence leaves a gaping hole their replacements can't begin to fill. The continuing actors (yes, I'm afraid even Ms. Muth) sleepwalk through their performances. The dialog is dull and plotting slow, sappily sentimental and illogical. The screenwriters were too lazy or unimaginative to follow the cosmological rules reaping that made the series so clever. And so on.

Is there anything good about it? Well ... it's nice to see that Britt McKillip (Reggie) has grown up to be a very attractive young woman.

If you're familiar with Stephen King's "Pet Semetary" you know what I mean. Your beloved, sweet, cute, loving cat dies, and is buried. But a few days later it comes back, alive again. This seems like a good thing. But even though it looks like your cat, something is different. It has changed, and not in a good way. There is something dark and black about it, now, and as hard as you try to recapture the warm and fuzzies you had for your sweet kitty, the more elusive they become. Instead, you are eventually forced to realize that what has returned to you is not the love of your life, but a fetid, malignant evil from the mouth of hell. Such is this return of "Dead Like Me."

What a wonderful, quirky TV show it was. What a horrid, depressing movie this is! It's as if they took your favorite food and removed all the taste and tripled the calories, then added a little syrup of ipecac.

Don't buy this DVD. If you want to watch it, I'll send you mine. It's worth the postage just to get rid of it.