Jack of All Trades

STOP.  There are spoilers included in this review, so stop reading if you don’t want the details.

I am usually a big fan of the dark comedies, particularly MASH and Heathers are among my favorites.  So when the original “Dead Like Me” television series hit the air, I found it engaging enough to be worth my attention.  It was clever and funny… and I was very disappointed when it was cancelled after only 2 seasons.

So when I first heard that a “Dead Like Me: Life After Death” movie reunion was to be released directly to DVD this year, I went directly to Amazon and pre-ordered it.  It arrived about a week ago, and I finally found opportunity to watch it last night.  As a long-time fan of the series, I have to express some of my disappointment in this film.

I do understand that some of the actors were unavailable to reprise their roles, but it seems to me that there was little effort put into properly casting the part of Daisy Adair.  Laura Harris had set a standard for that character as a vivacious, but lonely southern belle with loose morals who aspires to be an actress.  Sadly, Sarah Wynter’s portrayal of the character felt very inconsistent and left me feeling rather depressed.  However, I do not blame Sarah.  She gave a fine performance with the text presented to her, but most of what was written for her was not Daisy.  And there is no way that Daisy would have broken into a cheesy song and dance routine even if she had forgotten her lines during a stage production.  They would have been better off giving Sarah a whole different character and excusing Daisy from the film with some excuse.

To that same end, it felt like Callum Blue and Jasmine Guy were only taking up space in this film.  You can’t focus on every character over the course of a film, but while the writers were messing with Daisy, they gave very little to Mason and Roxy.  There were times where you even forgot that they were there.

Next, I am not trying to be cruel or harsh with my next few statements, so please just take this as my honest appraisal.  Some time has passed since the show ended, and some of the cast has put on a few pounds… plus, some of the make-up work was just unflattering to the actors.  So why did the director, Stephen Herek, continually feel the need to go to close-up shots of these actors.  Was he feeling particularly sadistic that day?  Who knows.  I just want to say that Stephen has proven his talent in the past, but this could have been done better.

Dear Stephen… if you are reading this, I know that you are presently in production on “Into the Blue 2: The Reef”; and I have a few thoughts on how Laura Vendervoort (Smallville) and Marsha Thomason (Lost) would be best filmed in swimwear.  Feel free to reach out to me if you are interested. 

However, not all of it was bad.  Despite the loss of Mandy Patankin, the cast does really hold onto that same cynical humor that I enjoyed during the original series.  I was pleased to see a stronger, loving relationship building between Joy and Reggie, and I enjoyed the bonding scenes between George and Reggie.  And George’s final revelation in the shower of Post-It notes has made me yearn for another sequel film.

All in all, I found it to be an acceptable sequel to the television series, but there were definitely flaws that needed more attention.  If there is another sequel, then I hope that more attention to these details is given, because I would definitely like to see more.