Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009)

One could say that the movie didn't have the most auspicious of starts. Rube/Mandy Patinkin was confirmed to be out. Laura Harris was out and Daisy had been recast. Then the movie was pushed back from its original Spring 08 release date to, well, 2/17/09. And while things didn't look good, DLM fans were still eager for a bit of their beloved show that had been been canceled in 2005.

But after finally viewing the movie, I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed. There were more than a few kernels that could have evolved into interesting scenarios had they been given the time to grow. As it actually is, it's a bit of a mess.

( Spoilers )

There was a lot of potential here, especially regarding the loss of Rube. But when compressing that potential into 80 odd minutes, much of the subtlety, character building, and heart from the series was lost. This is the kind of thing that probably would have worked better as a miniseries or OVA. Some seem to think that the movie is testing the waters for a potential series restart, and the end of the movie lends a bit of credence to that. Only time and DVD sales will prove the rumors right.