Meet Joe Black

REVIEW
Death has angst, and really wants a break from it all. Maybe he'll use his free time to taste peanut butter, to smell perfume, even to find love (few people respond to Death's personals). So when a minor character who looks just like Brad Pitt dies, Death opportunistically takes his body, names it Joe, and proceeds to use those handsome features to woo a rich woman (Forlani), learn about peanut butter (possible sequel: Death Needs a Zagat's), and putter around Hopkins' estate. This, in essence, is what happens in this overly long, slick, self-important remake of the 1934 classic Death Takes a Holiday. Frustratingly, there's a good 110-minute movie in here somewhere, but director Brest thinks he's David Lean. It's a one-note tale not worthy of epic storytelling. At least the cast looks great. Hopkins does his best in a thankless role as Death's chaperone.