History Film / DefendingYourLife

* ProductPlacement: One of the points posted by the prosecution is Daniel doing the impressively dumb decision to not buy into Casio when the American stock was worth peanuts because [[ItWillNeverCatchOn he thought it would not catch on]]. Casio, a brand so good that beings in the afterlife with minds greater than a regular human swear by it. As a counterpoint, Daniel points out that [[MoneyIsNoPower basing the decision on whether or not he should move on to a greater spiritual level on whether or not he made money on Earth is dumb.]]

* MoneyIsNotPower: Constantly played with. Bob asks if Daniel donated to charities. He's questioned for not demanding a better salary from his interviewer, and missed out on a once-in-several-lifetimes offer of Casio stock. An exasperated Daniel finally blows up, "Here we go again with money. Obviously, this is all about money. Look, I'm guilty. I didn''t make enough money, okay? Call me a hippie. Send me to hell. I give up!"
* MundaneAfterlife: Judgement City is purposefully designed to resemble a nice urban California community so those arriving from the western half of the United States can feel as comfortable as possible in surroundings that are "pleasing and very familiar."

* 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 sent to another place that can handle them.

* TheCameo: Creator/ShirleyMacLaine appears as the hologram host of the Past Lives Pavilion. [[note]] At the time, [=MacLaine=] was well-known (and ridiculed) for espousing beliefs that she had lived several past lives - an idea that this film takes as complete truth. [[/note]]

* DiedOnTheirBirthday: Daniel dies on his birthday, when he crashes his new birthday present to himself - a BMW convertible.

* ABirthdayNotABreak: For added irony, Daniel dies on his birthday, when he crashes his new birthday present to himself - a BMW convertible.

* FoodPorn: The dishes made for Daniel and other newly-dead are shown are mouthwatering. Judgement City food is prepared within minutes, if not seconds, and invariably tastes fantastic, with the added benefit that the food won't cause weight gain, no matter how much is consumed. Food for residents, on the other hand, is more [[AlienLunch "avant-garde"]] and does not taste appetizing to the newly-dead, as Daniel discovers to his horror, and Bob's amusement.

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

* InnocentBigot: While by no means a racist, college age Daniel scoffs at the idea of the Japanese making a timepiece. He says if it were the ''Germans'' making one, he'd invest (presumably due to their proximity to the Swiss.)
* 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.

* MoneyIsNotPower: Constantly played with. Bob asks if Daniel donated to charities. He's questioned for not demanding a better salary from his interviewer, and missed out on a once-in-several-lifetimes offer of Casio stock. An exasperated Daniel finally blows up, "Here we go again with money. Obviously, this is all about money. Look, I’m guilty. I didn’t make enough money, okay? Call me a hippie. Send me to hell. I give up!"

* NoNameGiven: Julia's last name. {{Lampshaded}} [[spoiler:in the climax]].

* NoodleIncident: Bob and Lena ''really'' don't like each other, even given the ending. Bob perks up when he learns Lena "lost last Thursday".

* OneSteveLimit: An aversion that's actually a plot point [[spoiler: when Daniel realizes he never found out Julia's last name.]]

* 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 seem to genuinely hate each other, even she beams a smile when Daniel declares his true love for Julia.]]

* SecretTestOfCharacter: [[spoiler: All those days Daniel was going through? They were intentionally to put pressure on him to see if he would crack. He nearly did, even admitting outright he was afraid to be in a relationship with Julia because he felt he wouldn't be moving on with her. The actual days had almost no bearing on Daniel's judgment. Instead, proving he would risk everything to be with Julia proved he'd conquered his fears.]]

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

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Julia, who died by [[spoiler:tripping into her pool]].
* UndignifiedDeath: Julia's death: [[spoiler:she tripped into her pool]].

* XanatosGambit: It's strongly hinted that the review itself was a test for Daniel, to try to humiliate him and see if he still had the courage after all their abuse to still bravely declare his love for Julia, even though they weren't going to be going to the same place.\\
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This theory is supported by the number of days Daniel is scheduled to review - nine - which is pointed out numerous times throughout the movie. If you don't count direct rebuttal scenes, the trial looks at eight days from Daniel's life on Earth (The schoolyard bully, the classmate losing his paint supplies, the Casio stock tip, the salary negotiation, the public speaking engagement, the snowmobile, Lena's [[{{Slapstick}} "bad decision"]] montage and the ticket to Hong Kong.) Day 9 is the unexpected review of his final conversation in the hotel with Julia. The climactic tram scene is Daniel's unintentional "rebuttal" to Day 9, which is observed by the re-assembled participants of the trial.

* AlienLunch: The "food" the big brains eat.

* UpToEleven: Casio watches apparently are the most prolific timepieces in the ''Universe''... and the ''afterlife'', too.
-->'''Male Judge:''' ''(holding up his arm to show his watch)'' I know who they are.

* DragonLady: Lena Foster's nickname. Subverted in that she's not Asian.

* EatenAlive: Daniel discovers one of his past lives was an African being chased by an unseen growling big cat.

* FantasticRacism: Typical humans [[NinetyPercentOfYourBrain use less than 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".
* FoodPorn: Since they're the absolute zenith of food, the dishes that are shown are mouthwatering.

* DeadToBeginWith: Daniel, meet bus. Bus, meet Daniel.

* TheCameo: Creator/ShirleyMacLaine appears as the hologram host of the Past Lives Pavilion. [[note]] At the time, MacLaine was well-known (and ridiculed) for espousing beliefs that she had lived several past lives - an idea that this film takes as complete truth. [[/note]]

* BiggerIsBetter: "I just got through a world filled with ''penis'' envy, now one with ''brain'' envy!"

* TheCameo: Creator/ShirleyMacLaine.
-->'''Offscreen woman:''' '''''[[GeniusBonus OH MY GOD!]]'''''[[note]]At the time, [=MacLaine=] was best known for believing in resurrection and past lives.[[/note]]

* CessationOfExistence: Briefly mentioned by Bob, who says that anybody who doesn't eventually learn is "thrown away," but there are people who get reincarnated hundreds of times.

* 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 in real life]].
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