Movies Like Defending Your Life (1991)

Defending Your Life is a 1991 comedy, drama, fantasy, romance film from Albert Brooks with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Coda and The Undead.

Comedy Drama Fantasy Romance

Coda

2013

A lost soul stumbles drunken through the city. In a park, Death finds him and shows him many things.

7.3

MagicScore

The Undead

1957

Two psychics place a prostitute under hypnosis in order to learn about her past-life experiences. When they unwittingly send her back in time, she finds herself in the Middle Ages, suspected of being a witch and on the verge of being executed.

4.4

MagicScore

Too Young To Die!

2016

After dying in a bus crash and falling to hell, high schooler Daisuke joins a demonic rock band so he can be reincarnated back into the mortal world.

6.5

MagicScore

Switch

1991

Steve Brooks, a sexist womanizer, is killed by a group of his angry former lovers. In heaven, he makes a bargain with God for redemption and agrees to return to Earth. Once there, he must have a sincere relationship with a female and make her fall in love with him. If not, Steve's soul will become the property of the devil. But the devil hedges his bet, and Steve is reincarnated as a woman named Amanda Brooks.

5.9

MagicScore

Ghost

1990

After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.

7.2

MagicScore

What Dreams May Come

1998

Chris Nielsen 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.

7.2

MagicScore

Recently, My Sister Is Unusual

2014

Mitsuki and Yuya become stepsister and stepbrother because of their parents' marriage. Mitsuki can't get along with her new family and Yuya doesn't know how to approach his new stepsister. One day, Mitsuki becomes possessed by the spirit of Hiyori. Hiyori likes Yuya and believes Yuya can help her get to heaven. Hiyori places a leather chastity belt upon on Mitsuki and a plan takes place to help send Hiyori to heaven.

7.0

MagicScore

City of Angels

1998

When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by 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.

6.8

MagicScore

Chances Are

1989

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.

6.6

MagicScore

#10

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

2002

Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring--but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers--Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron's fortress at Barad-dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor.

8.4

MagicScore

#11

How to Get Ahead in Advertising

1989

Pressure from his boss and a skin-cream client produces a talking boil on a British adman's neck.

6.2

MagicScore

#12

Even Mice Belong in Heaven

2021

Whizzy is a little mouse, Whitebelly is a fox. They are naturally mortal enemies. One day, after an unfortunate accident, both meet in animal heaven. Together, they will embark on a fantastic journey and discover friendship can overcome everything.

7.1

MagicScore

#13

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

1991

Amiable slackers Bill and Ted are once again roped into a fantastical adventure when De Nomolos, a villain from the future, sends evil robot duplicates of the two lads to terminate and replace them. The robot doubles actually succeed in killing Bill and Ted, but the two are determined to escape the afterlife, challenging the Grim Reaper to a series of games in order to return to the land of the living.

6.3

MagicScore

#14

Enter the Void

2010

This psychedelic tour of life after death is seen entirely from the point of view of Oscar, a young American drug dealer and addict living in Tokyo with his prostitute sister, Linda. When Oscar is killed by police during a bust gone bad, his spirit journeys from the past -- where he sees his parents before their deaths -- to the present -- where he witnesses his own autopsy -- and then to the future, where he looks out for his sister from beyond the grave.

7.3

MagicScore

#15

Ghostbusters II

1989

The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.

6.6

MagicScore

#16

Eega

2012

Nani is a flower decorator, madly in love with his neighbor Bindhu. He gets killed by the baddie, Sudeep, a powerful businessman. Nani comes back as a housefly to get his revenge.

7.1

MagicScore

#17

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

1989

The wife of an abusive criminal finds solace in the arms of a kind regular guest in her husband's restaurant.

7.3

MagicScore

#18

Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical

2006

From an ominous Lecturer, a small 1930s middle American community learns of the Harper Affair, in which young Jimmy Harper finds his life of promise turn into a life of debauchery and murder thanks to the new drug menace marijuana. Along the way, he receives help from his girlfriend Mary and Jesus Himself, but always finds himself in the arms of the Reefer Man and the rest of the denizens of the Reefer Den.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

Fluke

1995

Workaholic Thomas Johnson dies in an auto accident and reincarnates as a dog. Remembering some of his previous being, he returns to his wife and son to protect them from the man who caused his accident. But, as time goes by, his memories return, and Thomas realizes he wasn't such a good husband and father.

7.1

MagicScore

#20

The Deeper You Dig

2019

14-year old Echo and her mother Ivy, a tarot card reader, live a quiet life in a rural area. When reclusive Kurt moves down the road to restore an abandoned farmhouse, an accident leads to Echo’s murder, and suddenly three lives collide in mysterious and wicked ways. Kurt assumes he can hide his secret under the ground. But Echo burrows into his head until he can feel her in his bones. As she haunts his every move, trying to reach her mother from beyond, Ivy must dig deep to see the signs and prove that love won’t stay buried.

5.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Defending Your Life?

The top films similar to Defending Your Life by MovieMagicScore are Coda (7.3), The Undead (4.4), Too Young To Die! (6.5). Each shares comedy/drama/fantasy/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Defending Your Life worth watching?

Defending Your Life holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 290 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Defending Your Life?

Defending Your Life (1991) is a comedy, drama, fantasy, romance film directed by Albert Brooks, starring Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn.

Where can I find more recommendations like Defending Your Life?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Coda Movies like The Undead Movies like Too Young To Die!Movies like Switch Movies like Ghost Movies like What Dreams May Come

About movies like Defending Your Life

This ranked list pairs Defending Your Life (1991), a comedy and drama and fantasy and romance film from Albert Brooks, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Albert Brooks take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

← Back to Defending Your Life