Dead Like Me: Life After Death

I was so surprised to find this movie because I was a big Dead Like Me fan from the start and was looking forward to seeing a wrap-up of it. Unfortunately, I was mostly disappointed. First off, there are some changes to some of the characters personalities. Of course, Daisy, comes to mind. They had to have another actress play her because Laura Harris either couldn't or wouldn't. People complain that Sarah Wynter is poor at depicting Daisy but I'm not so sure it's all her. When the original Daisy would open her mouth, something interesting came out. Not so with this movie. Daisy's lines in general are just boring. Along with that, there are a few changes in the way the original characters act as if whoever wrote the movie didn't participate in the series and didn't have a good grasp as to what it was all about. I thought perhaps they had different writers but the ones who worked on this also worked on the series. I don't want to give spoilers so I'll just say that some things that happen, esp. the ending with their "replacement" character for Rube, seem completely out of character for all of them. It just comes off as stupid and ridiculous. Another thing is, if they couldn't get Mandy Patinkin, they shouldn't have even bothered with this. He's too important for the composition of the characters to go without and the Henry Ian Cusick part was mostly annoying and pointless. I also wasn't too crazy at how George's mother's change in demeanor from sardonic, cynical and sarcastic to upbeat and recovered from her daughter's death was kind of jarring even though it made sense being after a five year period. There's also a edgy quirky darkness that the original had that is sadly missing here. The best most interesting part of the movie is what happens between George and her sister, which I don't want to say to, again, spoil anything but it is the part that makes this movie worth watching.

ideally, it would be that they were trying to tie up loose ends left when the show was canceled...but i guess that would be a bit too much to ask... there are so many shows that, when they get gone, leave the viewers with little to no resolution. or, if you're from California...closure. 'deadwood' and 'john from cincinnati' come readily to mind... so when i saw that these people had made a movie i thought, 'great. a studio that cares about its audience...'. maybe. maybe not. personally, i would've rather they made no follow up than a foul up... there's LOTS of things that are, at best, unsatisfactory about this project. first off, for me, was the 'new' daisy adair...easily one of the most dynamic characters of the show, though a 'latecomer'...and boy, if people want to see the difference a good actress makes, they need look no further than here...i imagine the actress that played daisy saw this as a good opportunity to, pardon the pun, make a killing... seems the studio decided they didn't need her THAT badly. bad decision... but it would seem that's only one of many... see this if you must. just don't get your hopes up. or you did like me...

Dead Like Me: Life After Death, is a good entry into the series. Though not quite as fun or engaging as the series was, it was quite enjoyable to see the characters again, and how they have all grown, matured, and subtly changed. It felt a bit restrained in comparison to the episodes which had a bit more energy and emotional content. However, the quality of dialog, special effects, and visual design are all very good.

Surely, this film won't be as enjoyable to individuals who are not familiar with the series, as they won't perceive the subtle character differences, and certainly won't understand why the reaper team is so frustrated with the new team leader of Cameron Kane. Nor will neophytes to the series pick up on the fact that George's mom has also grown and matured significantly, or why it was such a big deal that she reveals her secret to her sister. And despite the fact that they did an excellent job of introducing "the world" that the story is built upon, the significance of Der Waffle Haus, Happy Time, and even Murray the cat, are all lost.

Overall, it was a satisfying experience, and yet leaves me regretting the series was canceled so prematurely. Dead Like Me was such a refreshing show, with its dark humor, yet its light and happy sadness. The ensemble cast, weird deaths, and character arcs, are all sorely missed. In fact, I canceled my Showtime subscription when I heard they had canceled the show. I hope there are additional installments into the franchise, but I fear that this is it. And if that is the case, it was a satisfying way to tie it up, unlike the unceremonious cut it received five years ago.

Yes, there are a ton of plot holes in this that make no sense when compared to the series. The lack of Rube really hurts, but the lack of Daisy does even more, simply because instead of just not having her character appear in this, they have another actress play her and her writing is completely uncharacteristic when compared to the show's Daisy. Her development in the show was genius and it's like this film forgot all of her episodes in Season 2 and how much she had progressed. It's pretty much a new character with the name "Daisy" and well, it's awful. Mason is also written in a way that doesn't make much sense. He's a screw-up, but he cared about Rube! Only Roxy and George have some of their show personalities. That whole reaper-Henry Ian Cusick storyline here really sucks.

What saves the film a bit is the family stuff. Okay, some plot holes as well, but the George/Reggie stuff is handled adequately, and also sort of gives closure to the show's ongoing storyline.

Really, this is a pretty mediocre film, and when compared to the show even worse, but it does have some good moments here and there. Stick with the show, this isn't needed.

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.