Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

serafinogm This movie should have been the denouement of Albert Brooks advancement as an actor. He was terrific, he was real, he was believable, he was entertaining, he had arrived and everything was just going to get better, yet it never happened. Sure he has been successful and he's experienced a degree of success that the majority of us (in particular me) could only dream about but his laid back witty, effortless acting style appears not to have caught fire, now the both of us are 69 and unless either of us can pull something out of a hat (never happen for me) our pinnacles are behind us and it's all down hill from here. Despite what has occurred to Albert's acting career this movie is a must see and it has the terrific Meryl Streep, as well as Rip Torn, Lee Grant, and Buck Henry (quite the cast). Watch this film and I promise you'll enjoy it, it's time well spent and the ending sequence is a tear jerker! Oh and Albert is far and away the reason this film is so enjoyable! He's a hoot! I discovered this film bombed at the box office, I am quite pleased that, in my small way, I helped pad the numbers!

vincentlynch-moonoi So, what happens when you die? The film poses that question and decides that you must defend certain aspects of your life...though apparently not sin. It's an interesting concept. In this case, Albert Brooks has to defend his indecision and fear throughout his life...which he only does at the very last moment.Albert Brooks is a bit passive here...although that seems right for the character he is playing (and by the way he wrote and directed the film, also). It seems like we almost always like Meryl Streep, and I do here. It's a much lighter role for her, and I think I liked it for that very reason. Rip Torn is good as Brooks' defender. Lee Grant seems a little cold here as the prosecutor...which often seemed to be her role in films...but it works. Buck Henry...nice to see him...briefly...but why is he here.So what's to criticize here. Well, the film is a bit slow at time. There are some missed opportunities (for example it would have been interesting to see more about the main characters previous lives). And we are left hanging as Brooks and Streep ride off into the sunset...to do what?...be together?...seems unlikely.Nevertheless, this film makes you think more than most films do. It's interesting, but not enthralling.

mark.waltz I believe that Albert Brooks is an acquired taste; From "Mother" with Debbie Reynolds to his earlier films "Lost in America" and "Modern Romance", his films have been hit or miss with me. This one is a hit. Funny, spiritual, life affirming and filled with truths that are sometimes hard to face, it is what I refer to as a popcorn movie where the air is already buttery enough to add the flavor and prevent the fat. It's a chance for Meryl Streep to show a lighter side, pretty much not act, and just be. Why this wonderful character had to die so young leaving children behind is tragedy in itself, but as we've heard heaven to be described (for those of us who believe that it exists), she has a light hearted attitude that makes it clear that she's already an angel watching over her children, and for her eternity, she's going to have whatever kind of friendship with the other heavenly newbie, Albert Brooks, that heaven allows.The story focuses on Brooks, having been killed in a car crash while looking down from the steering wheel trying to pick up a CD (a warning for those who text or talk on the phone while they drive....), and his entry into the preliminary entrance of heaven is filled with a mystery. Will he be able to make it out of the courts of heaven, or will he be doomed for the other alternative that is given (presumably reincarnation, no real mention of hell is given), looking doubtful thanks to the tough attorney in favor of sending him back. By chance, he meets Streep, is overwhelmed by her lovely, self effacing nature, and while she goes through her hearing with no issues, it's his that is in question, which threatens to separate this odd couple before she can even get on the tram for her final stop in the world of eternal life.There are tidbits of heavenly magic here; All you can eat pasta with seafood that does not make you fat (makes me not want to sin right there just thinking about it), other worldly comics who comment on "This is the first day of the end of your life", and a visit to a hall of reincarnation where a surprise guest star mocks their own self image by hosting what Streep, Brooks and a bunch of others get to see themselves in as having been prior to their last life. Streep hands the film over to Brooks who goes out of his way to get the majority of the jokes, but her reacting to him only makes her seem better. Veteran actors Rip Torn and Lee Grant are the defense and prosecutor in Brooks' case, and while Torn is easy going and the kind of guy you could play golf with on a sunny Saturday morning, Grant is a ball-busting tough feminist style "take no prisoners" shark. As footage from his life, displaying his lack of courage in taking risk, is exposed, you might fear what would come out in your own hearing, although for me, simple atonement and the realization of the sin of "oops" helps me get past that embarrassment. The writing is brilliant, satirical, not in favor of any one religion, but definitely spiritual in nature to where it uses the freedom of one's own mind to allow the viewer to agree or disagree with what's going on, yet never becoming aggressive in its views of what they are telling us to expect in the great beyond. For that, I have a great deal of respect for this movie which is simple light entertainment, but really has a lot to make its audience open up the ideas of what's more important than the temporary lives we live on earth.

Johan Dondokambey The basic concept looks like it incorporates various belief systems here and there; Buddhist view of reincarnation, Abrahamaic religions' views of afterlife personal judgment, and the American Dream of a liberal heaven. The movie builds up the main character's funny attitude very well. It's too bad that it doesn't really support the story. It's because the story gets to be so serious and it leaves no room for any practical jokes. I personally think that this movie should also be billed as a romance story, because it can present the afterlife acquaintance and ensuing relationship nicely. The acting is decently okay. Albert Brooks give out enough character to his role and was funny in it. Meryl Streep gives the nice balancing act on the romantic side of the story.