History Film / DefendingYourLife

* Ending Type: [[spoiler:EarnYourHappyEnding.]]

* {{Reincarnation}}: If you are flawed or still contain fears from your previous lives, you are sent right back.

* AdultFear: What the tests are ''really'' about.

->'''Daniel Miller''': Is this Heaven?
->'''Bob Diamond''': No, it isn't Heaven.
->'''Daniel Miller''': Is it Hell?
->'''Bob Diamond''': Nope, it isn't Hell either. Actually, there is no Hell. Although I hear UsefulNotes/LosAngeles [[PlaceWorseThanDeath is getting pretty close.]]

* BiggerIsBetterInBed: One interviewee claims to a talk show host she had sex with UsefulNotes/BenjaminFranklin twice.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: An afterlife talk show has a woman saying she slept with Creator/BenjaminFranklin twice.
-->'''Host:''' How was he?\\
'''Woman:''' ''({{beat}})'' ... he was fat, Bob.

* FantasticRacism: Typical humans [[NinetyPercentOfYourBrain use less then seven percent of their brain]]. The term "little brain" is bandied about in the same deprecating way that racial slurs are used in our world right down to the stand-up comic making "little brain" jokes and then complaining that the audience isn't bright enough to understand them because they're "little brains".

Daniel Miller (Brooks) dies in a car wreck and finds himself in a very Earth-like purgatory called Judgment City. Here, he is given a defense attorney, Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), who informs him that he will have to [[TitleDrop defend Daniel's life]] by [[JudgementOfTheDead presenting Daniel's past in a trial]] over whether or not Daniel can AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence or if he should be [[{{Reincarnation}} sent back to face his fears]]. Daniel then meets [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Julia]] (Streep), who led a loving and fulfilling life, but died an untimely death. Julia and Daniel quickly hit it off, but while Daniel asserts he has no more fears and he's ready to move on, his romance with Julia begins raising some doubts...

* PunchClockVillain[=/=]DesignatedVillain[=/=]JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler: Lena. It's implied that part of her role is to antagonize Daniel as seen in Xanatos Gambit below. Remember, ''both'' "lawyers" work for the Universe. While she and Bob seems to genuinely hate each other, even she beams a smile when Daniel declares his true love for Julia.]]
* RaceForYourLove: In the film's climax, [[spoiler:Daniel and Julia are put on busses: Daniel's bus is going to back to Earth while Julia's is going to the next phase of existence. When Julia calls out for Daniel, he finally [[CharacterDevelopment faces his fear]], escapes the bus, and catches up to her while the bus is in motion, only to find the door is locked. The judges find it so moving they [[EarnYourHappyEnding let him on with her]].]]

* UpToEleven: Casio apparently is the most prolific timepieces in the ''Universe''... and apparently the ''afterlife'', too.

%% Unclear whether this is in-universe * SuspiciouslyAproposMusic: [[Theatre/WestSideStory "Around the corner, something big is coming!]] [[Music/BarbraStreisand Come to me!"]] ''(cue Daniel screaming as the big thing around the corner comes to him)''

* SuspiciouslyAproposMusic: [[Theatre/WestSideStory "Around the corner, something big is coming!]] [[Music/BarbraStreisand Come to me!"]] ''(cue Daniel screaming as the big thing around the corner comes to him)''

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Everything about Judgment City is designed to be familiar to the residents of the West Coast, including the city itself, [[CaliforniaDoubling which is Century City itself]].
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: An afterlife talk show has a woman saying she slept with UsefulNotes/BenjaminFranklin twice.

* CelestialBureaucracy: In order to move on, the deceased must win a trial over whether or not they're worthy to continue. They are given a defense lawyer, face off against prosecutors, and are judged by what look like average court judges. There are two exceptions: children and teenagers. Children [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence automatically go on]] for [[ChildrenAreInnocent being innocent]], while teens [[TeensAreMonsters are too much trouble to keep around]] and get to another place that can handle them.

Daniel Miller (Brooks) dies in a car wreck and finds himself in a very Earth-like purgatory called Judgement City. Here, he is given a defense attorney, Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), who informs him that he will have to [[TitleDrop defend Daniel's life]] by [[JudgementOfTheDead presenting Daniel's past in a trial]] over whether or not Daniel can AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence or if he should be [[{{Reincarnation}} sent back to face his fears]]. Daniel then meets [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Julia]] (Streep), who led a loving and fulfilling life, but died an untimely death. Julia and Daniel quickly hit it off, but while Daniel asserts he has no more fears and he's ready to move on, his romance with Julia begins raising some doubts...

Daniel Miller (Brooks) dies in a car wreck and finds himself in a very Earth-like purgatory called Judgement City. Here, he is given a defense attorney, Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), who informs him that he will have to [[TitleDrop defend Daniel's life]] by presenting Daniel's past in a trial over whether or not Daniel can AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence or if he should be [[{{Reincarnation}} sent back to face his fears]]. Daniel then meets [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Julia]] (Streep), who led a loving and fulfilling life, but died an untimely death. Julia and Daniel quickly hit it off, but while Daniel asserts he has no more fears and he's ready to move on, his romance with Julia begins raising some doubts...

* {{Handwave}} / AWizardDidIt: In-universe, whenever Daniel is amazed at the Residents knowing things they shouldn't, they essentially say "Big brains, remember?"

* InsistentTerminology / ImmediateSelfContradiction: All the staff of Judgment City insist repeatedly that the proceedings for each deceased are not a "trial." What exactly the proceedings ''are'', that involve a courtroom, judges, prosecution, defense counsel, opening statements, cross-examination, and closing statements, but ''are not a trial'', is never revealed.

* PunchClockVillain / DesignatedVillain / JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler: Lena. It's implied that part of her role is to antagonize Daniel as seen in Xanatos Gambit below. Remember, ''both'' "lawyers" work for the Universe. While she and Bob seems to genuinely hate each other, even she beams a smile when Daniel declares his true love for Julia.]]

* StiffUpperLip / StepfordSmiler: Daniel seems to be angst-ridden but taking it all in stride.