Albert Brooks, probably best known now as the voice of Nemo, wrote and directed this story about the afterlife in Judgment City, where humans go in a sort of way station to determine if they will go on, or be sent back to Earth to live another life. Meryl Streep is a fellow traveller he meets. He is envious that her "trial" is set to be shorter than his. He thinks his "attorney" Rip Torn is not good enough. He thinks that he did not use enough of his brain while on Earth. He thinks his prosecutor (Lee Grant) is too good. He even thinks he should have a better hotel.
It's an interesting look at an alternative, imaginative view of the afterlife, or at least part of it. The goal is to go on, wherever that is, rather than to be sent back, which is viewed as a type of failure. Even in death, there's a sense of "I could've done more". Of course since the main characters died young deaths, that is pervasive in their thinking.
Made in 1991 it is a lot like When Harry Met Sally, the nice Jewish boy meets the WASP princess and wants to be "good enough." See also The Heartbreak Kid, The Graduate, Meet the Parents.
* * * * of 5
Here's a nice recap of the movie on its 25th anniversary.
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