Best movies like Defending Your Life
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In an afterlife resembling the present-day US, people must prove their worth by showing in court how they have demonstrated courage.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: romantic, touching, humorous, philosophical, sweet, light, spiritual, semi serious, funny, cult classic
Best tv shows and movies like Defending Your Life (1991):
Similar in 87%
Astral City: A Spiritual Journey (2010)
Plot Summary:
The selfish Dr. André Luiz dies and awakes in the limbo called "Umbral". After a painful period in the gruesome swamp, he is rescued and brought in a white light to "Nosso Lar" (meaning "Our Home"). He finds a place of harmony, where people live in peace awaiting.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: Brazil
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: spiritual, serious, captivating, atmospheric, stylized, mystical, mind bending, psychedelic, social, smart
Similar in 78%
Oh, God! (1977)
Plot Summary:
When God appears to an assistant grocery manager as a good natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger for the modern world.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: funny, clever, humorous, entertaining, grindhouse, feel good, semi serious, hilarious, sentimental, inspirational
Similar in 83%
All of Me (1984)
Plot Summary:
Just before stubborn millionaire Edwina Cutwater dies, she asks her uptight lawyer, Roger Cobb to amend her will so that her soul will pass to the young, vibrant Terry Hoskins – but the spiritual transference goes awry. Edwina enters Roger's body instead, forcing him to battle Edwina for control of his own being.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: funny, light, feel good, clever, talky, entertaining, cult classic, witty, semi serious, humorous
Similar in 80%
Delivering Milo (2001)
Plot Summary:
A guardian angel has 24 hours to convince a soul that life on Earth is worth the effort.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, touching, captivating, independent film, offbeat, crying
Similar in 81%
Down to Earth (2001)
Plot Summary:
After dying before his time, an aspiring comic gets a second shot at life... by being reincarnated as a wealthy but un-likable businessman.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Comedy, Fantasy
Country: Germany, Canada, Australia, USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: funny, humorous, melancholic, absurd, feel good, semi serious, romantic, black comedy, romantic comedy, psychotronic
Similar in 86%
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Plot Summary:
Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant, the murderers, are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: funny, sentimental, touching, witty, sexy, melancholic, light, feel good, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 82%
Truly Madly Deeply (1990)
Plot Summary:
Nina is totally heartbroken at the death of her boyfriend Jamie, but is even more unprepared for his return as a ghost. At first it's almost as good as it used to be - hey, even the rats that infested her house have disappeared. But Jamie starts bringing ghostly friends home and behaving more and more oddly.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Music, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: romantic, sentimental, touching, offbeat, humorous, witty, thought provoking, spiritual, sad, romantic comedy
Similar in 90%
Lost in America (1985)
Plot Summary:
David and Linda Howard are successful yuppies from LA. When he gets a job disappointment, David convinces Linda that they should quit their jobs, liquidate their assets, and emulate the movie Easy Rider, spending the rest of their lives traveling around America...in a Winnebago.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: road movie, humorous, witty, talky, funny, feel good, realistic, semi serious, cynical, cult classic
Similar in 76%
Michael (1996)
Plot Summary:
Tabloid reporters are sent by their editor to investigate after the paper recieves a letter from a woman claiming an angel is living with her.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 45000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: feel good, uplifting, humorous, romantic, light, entertaining, road movie, sweet, spiritual, mind bending
Similar in 80%
After Life (1998)
Plot Summary:
After death, people have just one week to choose only a memory to keep for eternity.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: philosophical, surreal, emotional, spiritual, existential, psychological, sincere, touching, contemplative, stylized
Similar in 79%
The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2004)
Plot Summary:
On his 83rd birthday, Eddie (Voight), a war vet and a maintenance worker at the Ruby Pier amusement park, dies while trying to save a girl who is sitting under a falling ride. When he awakens in the afterlife, he encounters five people with ties to his corporeal existence who help him understand the meaning of his life.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: spiritual, emotional, touching, christian film, serious, psychological, mystical, inspirational, philosophical, sad
Similar in 89%
Fluke (1995)
Plot Summary:
Workaholic Thomas Johnson dies in an auto accident and comes back to life as a dog. Remembering some of who he was, he returns to his wife and son to protect them from the man who caused his accident. But, as time goes by, he remembers more of his life, and realizes he wasn't such a good husband and father.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, sentimental, light, semi serious, touching, entertaining, sad, cult classic, sweet, tear jerker
Similar in 75%
Ghost Town (2008)
Plot Summary:
Dentist, Bertram Pincus is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 77000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: light, entertaining, feel good, humorous, sentimental, witty, not serious, funny, romantic, sweet
Similar in 90%
L.A. Story (1991)
Plot Summary:
With the help of a talking freeway billboard, a "wacky weatherman" tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early-90s Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: feel good, funny, cult classic, clever, touching, humorous, surreal, witty, talky, satirical
Similar in 77%
Always (1989)
Plot Summary:
Pete Sandich is a reckless fire-fighting pilot who is killed in what was to have been his final mission. Ascending to Heaven, Pete is introduced to business-like angel who instructs the spectral Pete to pass on his aviation knowledge to his young successor. While doing so, Pete also smoothes the course of romance for his earthly girlfriend who, after several months of grieving, finally falls in love with another man.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, romantic, emotional, intense, feel good, mystical, sad, powerful, indie film
Similar in 79%
Made in Heaven (1987)
Plot Summary:
A romantic, occasionally funny, drama about two souls who consummate their marriage literally in "Heaven". Mike Shea, in his first life dies as a young man performing a heroic rescue. Shortly after arriving in "Heaven" he meets a new soul, Annie Packert, who has never lived on Earth before. The drama centers around their separation soon after being wedded and the burning question is whether they will reunite on Earth before time runs out or whether they are fated to eternal soul-searching.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, offbeat, spiritual, humorous, semi serious, fairy tale, independent film, sentimental, light, romantic
Similar in 82%
Just Like Heaven (2005)
Plot Summary:
Shortly after David Abbott moves into his new San Francisco digs, he has an unwelcome visitor on his hands: winsome Elizabeth Martinson, who asserts that the apartment is hers -- and promptly vanishes. When she starts appearing and disappearing at will, David thinks she's a ghost, while Elizabeth is convinced she's alive.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: romantic, fairy tale, romantic comedy, feel good, light, funny, touching, sweet, entertaining, humorous
Similar in 84%
The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
Plot Summary:
Due to a genetic disorder, handsome librarian Henry DeTamble involuntarily zips through time, appearing at various moments in the life of his true love, the beautiful artist Clare Abshire.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 156000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: romantic, touching, sentimental, emotional, sad, sincere, tear jerker, sweet, heartbreaking, romantic comedy
Similar in 87%
Chances Are (1989)
Plot Summary:
Louie Jeffries is happily married to Corinne. On their first anniversary, Louie is killed crossing the road. Louie is reincarnated as Alex Finch, and twenty years later, fate brings Alex and Louie's daughter, Miranda, together. It's not until Alex is invited to Louie's home that he begins to remember his former life, wife and best friend. Of course, there's also the problem that he's attracted to Louie's/his own daughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, romantic, funny, light, sweet, melancholic, feel good, semi serious, humorous
Similar in 78%
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)
Plot Summary:
Zia, distraught over breaking up with his girlfriend, decides to end it all. Unfortunately, he discovers that there is no real ending, only a run-down afterlife that is strikingly similar to his old one, just a bit worse. Discovering that his ex-girlfriend has also "offed" herself, he sets out on a road trip, with his Russian rocker friend, to find her. Their journey takes them through an absurd purgatory where they discover that being dead doesn't mean you have to stop livin'!.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 57000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: road movie, humorous, independent film, dark comedy, surreal, black comedy, cult classic, contemplative, semi serious, romantic
Similar in 80%
Meet Joe Black (1998)
Plot Summary:
When the grim reaper comes to collect the soul of megamogul Bill Parrish, he arrives with a proposition: Host him for a "vacation" among the living in trade for a few more days of existence. Parrish agrees, and using the pseudonym Joe Black, Death begins taking part in Parrish's daily agenda and falls in love with the man's daughter. Yet when Black's holiday is over, so is Parrish's life.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 259000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 178 min
Plot tags: touching, romantic, sentimental, philosophical, emotional, feel good, clever, tear jerker, serious, surprise ending
Similar in 87%
Ruby Sparks (2012)
Plot Summary:
Calvin is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby, in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 105000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: feel good, psychological, romantic, independent film, surreal, philosophical, absurd, witty, thought provoking, touching
Similar in 77%
Interstate 60 (2002)
Plot Summary:
An aspiring painter meets various characters and learns valuable lessons while traveling across America.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: road movie, surreal, witty, enigmatic, offbeat, independent film, mindfuck, psychological, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 79%
Pleasantville (1998)
Plot Summary:
Geeky teenager David and his popular twin sister, Jennifer, get sucked into the black-and-white world of a 1950s TV sitcom called "Pleasantville," and find a world where everything is peachy keen all the time. But when Jennifer's modern attitude disrupts Pleasantville's peaceful but boring routine, she literally brings color into its life.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 135000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: black and white, touching, humorous, feel good, surreal, visual, light, talky, semi serious, clever
Similar in 79%
Groundhog Day (1993)
Plot Summary:
A narcissistic TV weatherman, along with his attractive-but-distant producer and mawkish cameraman, is sent to report on Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 670000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: feel good, philosophical, romantic, humorous, sentimental, hilarious, surreal, clever, funny, sweet
Similar in 81%
What Dreams May Come (1998)
Plot Summary:
Chris Neilson dies to find himself in a heaven more amazing than he could have ever dreamed of. There is one thing missing: his wife. After he dies, his wife, Annie killed herself and went to hell. Chris decides to risk eternity in hades for the small chance that he will be able to bring her back to heaven.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 113000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA, New Zealand
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: surreal, philosophical, touching, inspirational, spiritual, emotional, tear jerker, cerebral, reflective, thought provoking
Similar in 81%
Return to Me (2000)
Plot Summary:
It took a lot of cajoling to get Bob (Duchovny), a recently widowed architect, to go on a blind date at a quirky Irish-Italian eatery. Once there, he's smitten instantly not with his date but with the sharp-witted waitress, Grace (Driver). Everything seems to be going great until an unbelievable truth is revealed, one that could easily break both of their hearts for good.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: inspirational, sentimental, touching, feel good, romantic comedy, romantic, entertaining, sweet, realistic, humorous
Similar in 75%
Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Plot Summary:
A young boy who tries to set his dad up on a date after the death of his mother. He calls into a radio station to talk about his dad’s loneliness which soon leads the dad into meeting a Journalist Annie who flies to Seattle to write a story about the boy and his dad. Yet Annie ends up with more than just a story in this popular romantic comedy.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 187000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: romantic, feel good, touching, sentimental, inspirational, light, romantic comedy, funny, sweet, emotional
Similar in 75%
City of Angels (1998)
Plot Summary:
When guardian angel Seth -- who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles -- becomes captivated by Maggie, a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 126000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: sentimental, romantic, tear jerker, sincere, emotional, sad, heartbreaking, touching, romantic comedy, inspirational
Similar in 75%
The Truman Show (1998)
Plot Summary:
Truman Burbank is the star of "The Truman Show", a 24-hour-a-day "reality" TV show that broadcasts every aspect of his life -- live and in color -- without his knowledge. His entire life has been an unending soap opera for consumption by the rest of the world. And everyone he knows -- including his wife and his best friend -- is really an actor, paid to be part of his life.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 12000000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: philosophical, thought provoking, psychological, touching, surreal, cerebral, clever, dramatic, motivational, spiritual