Synopsis
Zach is devastated by the unexpected death of his girlfriend, Beth. When she mysteriously returns, he gets a second chance at love. Soon his whole world turns upside down...
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Cast
- Aubrey PlazaBeth Slocum
- Dane DeHaanZach Orfman
- John C. ReillyMaury Slocum
- Molly ShannonGeenie Slocum
- Cheryl HinesJudy Orfman
- Paul ReiserNoah Orfman
- Matthew Gray GublerKyle Orfman
- Anna KendrickErica Wexler
- Eva La DarePearline
- Paul WeitzMr. Levin
Recommendations
- 90
Variety
Blending smart fantasy elements, broad comedy, tender romance and an atypically slow-burning apocalypse, the directorial debut of “I Heart Huckabees” co-writer Jeff Baena is charming, thoughtful and laugh-out-loud funny. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Sometimes tender, sometimes frantic and always funny, the film's surprising coherence is exemplified in a climactic scene that pairs credible heartbreak with pure slapstick. - 75
Entertainment Weekly
The premise would make for a great Funny or Die video, but stretched out to feature length, it runs out of ideas pretty quickly. Still, Plaza is terrific. She commits so fully to her rabid, Romero-esque alter ego, she chews the movie up. - 61
Film.com
Baena takes a well-tread road, leaving behind the guts of his promising story and never capitalizing on the charms of either romance or his leading lady. - 60
Time Out
There’s social satire for those who want it — don’t tell the rest of the neighborhood our daughter’s risen from the dead! — and a fine, simmering sense of apocalypse that turns this suburban community into a war zone. Still, it’s a lot of heavy lifting for what amounts to “he’s just not that into you,” mainly because you’re as ripe as a cadaver. - 60
Village Voice
It's not quite as crazy as it needs to be: There's something listless about Life After Beth — it starts out as a reflection on the potentially morbid nature of grief and then doesn't seem to know where to go. - 58
The Playlist
Baena’s debut just never really comes to life and unfortunately lacks the bite the best of the genre has to offer. - 50
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
This dark comedy has a lot of promise for about half its length. Then, unfortunately, it settles into the mundane genre picture that it seems doomed to be.
