Dead Like Me: Life After Death

Plot synopsis:
In Seattle, Washington, a crew of Reapers, who live and work among the living and whose job is to gather souls of people who are about to die, find themselves confronted by change, as their habitual meeting place, the Der Waffle Haus restaurant, burns down on the same day that their boss and head reaper, Rube, disappears (having "gotten his lights").The team soon meets their new boss, Cameron Kane (Henry Ian Cusick), a slick businessman who died falling from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He outfits them with color-coordinated smartphones and treats them to luxurious accommodations, teaching them all that, as Roxy (Jasmine Guy), a local police officer, puts it later, "nothing we do here matters." This tutelage leads the Reapers to perform such misdeeds as Roxy saving those they were to Reap, or Mason (Callum Blue) abusing immortality for financial gain, or Daisy (Sarah Wyler) letting a soul wander, instead of showing him "his lights", and otherwise selfishly focusing on their wants.Georgia "George" Lass (Ellen Muth), the cynical and humble narrator, is fired from her office job at Happy Time Temp Agency when, after she loudly chews out an incompetent employee named Amy for delivering a report late, the employee quits and sues the company for harassment.Meanwhile, George's bitter and highly neurotic divorced mother, Joy (Cynthia Stevenson), who never got over George's accident five years earlier when she was "killed" by a flying toilet seat, struggles to make it in the world as a writer and grievance counselor to parents who lost their children in violent deaths. George's younger sister Reggie (Britt McKillip) is a rather socially awkward and insecure 16-year-old attending high school but secretly is dating a popular school athlete named Hudson (Jordan Hudyma), who appears to be even more in love with Reggie than his "real" girlfriend--but, due to boundaries in high school social cliques, they only see each other in secret. After Hudson ends up hospitalized following a severe car accident, Reggie runs into George (appearing as her alter-life Millie Hagan) multiple times.George ends up admitting her identity to her sister Reggie. Despite Reggie casually believing herself mad and refusing to believe what's going on, George finds herself reminiscing with Reggie, helping her prepare for the death of her boyfriend Hudson. During this time, George and Reggie begin to bond and be the sisters they weren't when George was alive. Later, Reggie asks to move in with George, even though she's dead. This appears to cause friction between Reggie and Joy, as the latter believes George is dead and gone (which is only half right). After George reaps Hudson, who passes on, Reggie attempts to kill herself by getting behind the wheel of George's red 1967 Mustang car (which she had acquired from a dead person in the series years earlier) and driving at a reckless speed. After George stops her, she realizes she can no longer see her sister anymore. Accepting that, Reggie visits George's grave one more time, before urging Joy to move on. Joy suggests that they go on a vacation.Meanwhile, George's fellow Reapers confront Kane and, learning he withheld 'reaps' and deliberately tempted them to let the "pebbles" of their misdeeds cause "waves" of evil elsewhere, find themselves trying to figure out how exactly a fellow Reaper can be killed as they shoot, drown, and finally dismember and cremate Kane, whose ashes are then shot into orbit along with those of Murray, the cat belonging to George's highly crazy boss Delores. At the launch, Delores arrives and tells George that the employee who had sued her for harassment had done so at several of her previous jobs, and George is reinstated, now with a promotion to a corner office.As Mason, Roxy, and Daisy walk away from the launch, wondering who their new boss is, the movie closes with George outside her former mother and sister's row house, watching from a safe distance as they pack up their car and drive off. After they have gone, George finds herself suddenly showered with Post-Its magically falling from the sky, like the Post-Its their former leader Rube used to deliver their Reaps. Realizing she's been selected by the powers-that-be as the group's new leader, she says "I am so fucked!"

Tags: comedy, psychedelic

Review:
Wynter just devours the scenery playing Daisy as a vapid, talentless idiot.It's nice that talented original cast members Ellen Muth, Callum Blue, Jasmine Guy, et al, got work, but they deserved a better vehicle than this shoddy, mawkish mess.
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.
Daisy Adair (Sarah Wynter...played by Laura Harris on the TV series) was "good" but again, like Cameron/Rube, you cant replace the original & in this case they literally tried to.
Roxy (Jasmine Guy) was in fine form & showed even more attitude than she did on many episodes of the show...which is great, since we are to believe she has this ass kicking attitude, which only was shown a handful of times in the series, here it was in almost every scene (except where she meets the Police commissioner & oddly turns Daisy like for a minute).
Any DLM fan has to see it, if for no reason than to go down memory lane & keep up to tabs if there is a resurrection of the show (lets hope).Hopefully the execs at MGM are taking notice of the great reviews its getting everywhere & bring the show back.........with Rube & the original Daisy..
I was hoping they would use the opportunity to expand on the "Reaper Society" and I kind of thought that was where the plot was heading but somehow failed to push through.The focus of the film is on Georgia and Reggie and unfortunately characters like Mason, Roxy, and Daisy become less significant than they should be in this film.
First of all, regardless what you think of the movie, if you haven't yet gotten both seasons of the series on DVD, by all means, get your copies of those as soon as possible & watch them!Is change good or bad?
Having so stated, I generally prefer the familiar  which means that I generally abhor change.In the broadcast versions of Dead Like Me, we lost Betty Rhomer (Rebecca Gayheart) after 5 episodes, & though I didn't then share with her fans profound enthusiasm for her character or performance, I had grown accustomed to her, & I was deeply disappointed.My initial reaction to the appearance of Daisy Adair (Laura Harris) was, "OMG, they've gone "replacement blonde" in an effort to boost ratings, using the 'sex sells' model in a show not only that isn't about sex, but also that doesn't have a significant sexual component." I thought at first that the show was ruined, but I kept watching; what I quickly discovered is that Harris is a most excellent actress & that the writers understood how to integrate Daisy into the DLM story.That Harris is very easy on the eyes turned out to be a bonus  a perfect dessert to follow the substantial main course.
In that case, every aspect of the change was surprisingly good.That isn't to discount Gayheart, who is in every sense a fine actress, but to recognize that Harris earned her fans after Gayheart had already set the bar awfully high.As the story unfolded, I was pleasantly amazed to discover the actors & writers taking the DLM experience to a level even higher than where the show began; then, in a flash, the de-orbiting toilet seat of fortune snuffed-out my favorite show.Some time later, I was elated to discover there was being made a DLM movie & I looked forward to its theatrical release: all we DLM fans & I would be vindicated when the box office numbers were tallied.
Kudos to the team that edited the SciFi versions: they seamlessly replaced the "foul language," so that the censorship wasn't obvious.Without spoilers: my overall impression of Dead Like Me: Life After Death is that, like the series, it is too short; by that, I mean that it left me wanting much, much more!
In reality, there's an awful lot of development that happens through the series that doesn't readily translate through the movie format, & that requires compromises.The makers of Dead Like Me: Life After Death brilliantly incorporated storyboards to aid in the transition between scenes & to bring the uninitiated up to speed without boring longtime fans of the series.However, even these conceits left a lot to be condensed into its 87-minute runtime, & that means among the reapers that the roles of Daisy Adair (Sarah Wynter), Roxy Harvey (Jasmine Guy) & Mason (Callum Blue) are minimized & stereotyped.Some purists will take issues with the scripting as it relates to character development within the movie.
In the end, I think the directors & editors did the best that could reasonably be expected from a comparatively short feature movie format.I urge the readers of this review to obtain for themselves a copy of the DLM direct-to-DVD movie Dead Like Me: Life After Death; even though it is set 5 years after the George's death, it works in several different ways: 1) It is a passably good introduction of the DLM series to the uninitiated; or, alternatively, 2) It is a passably good ending to the DLM story: if it goes no further, DLM fans won't feel completely cheated; or, alternatively, 3) It is an EXCELLENT bridge between the DLM series & future DLM productions.Given the diversity of missions & objectives defined by the DLM fanbase, & Given the budgetary constraints & political battles that threatened to kill the project before it got the green light, plus the myriad hurdles that threatened its survival during production, & Given the post-production, mastering, manufacturing & distribution problems that cropped up, that this movie ever got distributed is barely less than a miracle, & those factors must be considered in any reasonable review of this movie.I got mine through Amazon.com; if you haven't ordered your copy yet, order it today!
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.
The part where (as Daisy) she forgets her lines on-stage in the film and begins acting like a lunatic because she clearly wasn't prepared for the show is to me a perfect metaphor for how badly Wynter played this character.
Callam Blue is great, but he should get back over to Secret Diary of Call Girl and forget Dead Like Me. I was the biggest fan of the show and so sad when it went off the air, but if this is the way they are going to try and bring it back then send in the reapers..
The direct-to-DVD feature "Dead Like Me: Life After Death" opens with a well-done, but redundant re-cap of the show's premise already captured so well in creator Bryan Fuller's movie-quality Pilot for those unfamiliar with the series.
But then again, if you're unfamiliar with the show you wouldn't be interested in this movie.Stunned at the unexpected loss of former team leader Rube (Mandy Patinkin contractually unable to be in the film), workman-like grim reapers Georgia Lass (Ellen Muth), Roxy (Jasmin Guy), Mason (Calum Blue) and Daisy Adair (Sarah Wynter replacing "24" sister Laura Harris who was hopefully off making the far better horror/comedy "Severance") are whisked off to a new life managed by unsavory new boss Cameron (Henry Ian Cusik, "Lost").
The first of which causes George to miss a reap which traps a teenage boy in a coma and brings George face to face with the boy's secret girlfriend: her sister, Reggie (Britt McKillip all grown up now).Series episodes were structured like a wheel, centered around a theme with every character branching off as a sprocket to illustrate a different element of that theme (a la Sex and the City).
I can see teenage girls crying and screaming at each other anywhere, but I can't see a bizarre Rube Goldberg series of events set in motion by a Graveling that leads to someone's death anywhere but "Dead Like Me".Speaking of the Gravelings, a certain surprise revelation regarding George and the Gravelings at the end of the 2nd season is disappointingly not addressed at all in "Life".
From Mandy Patinkin's rock solid performance to Stewart Copeland's whimsical music to Laura Harris portraying a ditz like Daisy Adair with a perfect (and rare) steely-eyed determination that everything she says is right – there are more things that I can count, big and small, from the show that are missing from this production.Maybe the most dispiriting thing about "Life" is how unnecessary it feels.
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.
Further more whoever thought it was a good idea to have a 'Dead Like Me' movie with a shitty, over-acting, clearly confused replacement for the actress who originally played Daisy(Laura Harris), needs to get eaten by a shark pronto!
Sarah Wynter Can't act for the life of her, or she clearly didn't care to watch season 2 of 'Dead Like Me' because she would see Daisy like many of the characters is suppose to be played with ease not theatre acting no matter if that's in the movies story.
Personally I wouldn't have a 'Dead Like Me' movie if I couldn't get the original Daisy, but what the hey.Now the plot of the movie is the typical plot you'd do for any half-ass-ed sequel or straight to DVD release, but the plot isn't the problem here even if its based on not being able to bring back one of the original actors(Mandy Patinkin: Rube).
Now the movie has its moments of good touching moments but they get killed quickly with elongated dialogue that's completely toothless, it would have been properly done if it those moments were based on short meaningful sentences that get straight to the point, not chances for over done acting with fuller dialogue.This is not by any means the 'Dead Like Me' movie and send off we've all been waiting for, and for true fans I'd appreciate the original way it ended even if it didn't give us much closure, because it was cancelled before it could have a last episode, but the way ti episode made sense as it didn't cross pounds the plot of 'Dead Like Me' could never go..
The two major character changes were the loss of Mandy Patinkin's Rube and Sarah Wynter stepping into a role originally played by Laura Harris.
Sadly, I can't rate this as highly as I did the series.I saw the 1st Season, and possibly 1 episode of Season 2.My first gripe with it is that they've removed Rube entirely, and replaced Daisy with a new actress.Although Daisy's replacement does a fairly good job, she didn't really come across as the same character as the Daisy from the series.The movie lacks most of the wit that made the series so good.Mason's lines don't even get close to the humour and ridiculous drug-abuse we saw in the series - and overall the writing didn't have as much kick to it as the series did in my opinion, especially considering most of the original characters play very small parts in the film.The story however is quite good.
Unlike Dead Like Me: Life After Death, it was a TV movie (when networks still produced them) with commercial breaks, and more than anything, it was a reunion of as many of the original cast members as they could find (and were still living) without there being much of a plot.
If you were a fan of "Dead Like Me" the series, I warn you to not watch this crap-fest of a movie.
Laura Harris didn't show in the movie,this kind of let me down,like her very much,Sarah Wynter(Daisy) acted a little wired....
The original Dead Like Me is one of my favorite TV series so I was definitely looking forward to this direct-to-video movie.
Sarah Wynter, who replaces Harris, is bitchy and slutty to excess, which makes Daisy more jaded than self-centered.The story is about George Lass resolving things with her family, as well as with a new handler who has replaced Rube and doesn't care if the reapers do their work or not.
Short on Happy, Long on Sad. The original series was a delicate balance between funny and serious, with the reapers mostly playing it for laughs and the story line about George's family generally downbeat.Patinkin's Rube Sofer character guided George, and the story, along the line between these worlds.
The movie feels a bit different from the series but I was most struck by the hole left through the loss of Rube, Der Waffle House, and the changing of the actress who played Daisy.
I wouldn't want to be dead like George Lass because the reapers don't have such a great life if you think about it.
That the show was lacking in some critical areas, lack of Rube being the biggest short falling; the new Daisy another.That said, I liked the movie overall, I miss the show terribly, and watch old epis every chance I get.
The wry take on the irony of everyday life, things we take for granted, death just another one of those things, the interaction,humour and frailty portrayed by the cast had me completely hooked.I think I made the mistake of watching the Two Seasons back-to-back on DVD and then expected the film to be a finale giving closure to all those who were left in the wilderness when 'The Suits' decided to cancel the show.Well, this is obviously what the suits decided it could have been', but to quote Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park; "Yeah, but your scientists (Suits) were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should".Okay, let the ranting begin, apologies, I will go off at Tangents but seriously if you spent time watching the series and followed 'The Rules', this film decides that the most fundamental rule set out in the Pilot episode doesn't matter!
Despite being the main character, I'm left with a feeling that George's only purpose in this story was to play the supporting role for her sister.Reggie's character has changed significantly from the original series.
If it's closure from the series that you seek in this film, then it is at least granted to Reggie's character with moderate success.Overall, Dead Like Me: Life After Death comes across as a disjointed set of events and ideas, lacking cohesion, direction and purpose.
I just can't.The film was great, despite some reviews i have read who obviously watched the film with extremely high hopes, expecting nothing to have changed at all and to pick up exactly where the TV show left off answering some of the all important questions the fan base has been itching to answer ever since the series was laid to rest, which i admit would have been good BUT impossible...Such examples of unanswered questions are: "how can George do *THIS*?", "why did *THAT* happen?", "will *XX* ever get with *XY*?".
also the original fan base would either be annoyed at these questions (which we have been bugging ourselves with for what seems like millennia) being rushed and not really answered, or we would have closure (of sorts) and there are no active plot lines to continue the series with.In my personal opinion the plot and new character (Cameron) were fine additions to a fantastic show!Now where it unfortunately loses these 2 points are: Daisy...
While it's true that Dead Like Me: Life After Death would have been much better with Mandy Patinkin, it was his choice not to participate, so I don't get why so many reviewers feel the movie was poor because he wasn't involved.
I was a little bit confused at the lack of any reference to the ending of the original series, where it had been made clear in the final scene that Reggie had "seen" George walking away from her grave site, so the revelation to Reggie in the movie that the strange blonde following her around was really her sister seemed a little oddly played and somewhat out of touch with the series.I missed the Waffle House, and yes, I missed Rube and the original Daisy, but the actors and crew worked with what they had, and Millie was her wonderful old self.
Despite this, the two characters had a lot of great scenes together and I was enjoying this new plot line.Just when I thought everything Rube taught these reapers was in vain, Roxy starts to see for herself what happens when you mess with Death's plan.
When news came that there was going to be a movie to resolve the story I was, like most fans, a little bit tickled that they would bring back to life (even for just a few moments) something that struck a chord with so many.There are many problems with the film that I am sad to say shouldn't have been made at all.
It even ruins the dynamic between her and Mason, you can tell he no longer pines for her the way he did in the series.so the movies hinges on some resolution between George and her Sister as well as the rest of the reapers having their field day and trying to get away with things they never would have been able to with Rube around.
HUH!Quite simply, this movie should never have been attempted, too much time had passed since the series ended, the actors and the characters had changed too much in that space we "did not see".