50
Metascore
30 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90VarietyGeoff BerkshireVarietyGeoff BerkshireBlending 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.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSometimes tender, sometimes frantic and always funny, the film's surprising coherence is exemplified in a climactic scene that pairs credible heartbreak with pure slapstick.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyEntertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyThe 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.
- 61Film.comKate ErblandFilm.comKate ErblandBaena 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.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfThere’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.
- 60Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekVillage VoiceStephanie ZacharekIt'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.
- 58The PlaylistCory EverettThe PlaylistCory EverettBaena’s debut just never really comes to life and unfortunately lacks the bite the best of the genre has to offer.
- 50McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMcClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreThis 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.
- 50TheWrapInkoo KangTheWrapInkoo KangThere are too few real humans in Life After Beth, resulting in a lack of both brains and heart.
- 38Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSlant MagazineEd GonzalezJeff Baena's film, at heart, is just another overly familiar story of a boy struggling to get over his first love and who's rewarded for his troubles with a less volatile replacement model.