Sunday, August 10, 2014

Life After Beth




Writer/Director Jeff Baena’s Life After Beth has a slow build, then hits its stride, bringing in laughs in what is being billed as a zom-com (Zombie Comedy), but then loses itself in muddled absurdity.

The clever premise concerns the death of young Beth (Aubrey Plaza) that destroys her boyfriend Zach (Dane DeHaan).  Having befriended Beth’s Father (John C. Reilly), Zach goes over for a visit a few days later and finds Beth is alive with no memory of her death or the fact she had recently broken off their relationship.
DeHaan, Reilly, Molly Shannon (Beth’s Mother) and Anna Kendrick (Zach’s Friend) turn in excellent performances, but they and Plaza are all hampered by the erratic script that turns south from the fun it had built throughout the middle act.

I give Life After Beth a 2+ out of 5.

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