**Possible Spoilers** Writer, director and star Albert Brooks hits his stride to perfection in the out-of-this-world (literally) comedy `Defending Your Life,' which also stars Meryl Streep. Daniel Miller (Brooks) has just celebrated his birthday; on his way home from work, in a new car and with a stack of new CD's (presents from co-workers), he becomes distracted, has a close encounter with a bus, and does not survive. The next thing he knows, he's aboard a tram somewhere, en route to a place called `Judgment City,' which has all the amenities of a resort, and has the best food he's ever had, ever (and you can eat as much as you want, and never gain weight). He's put up in a fine hotel, and a phone call later he is in the office of Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), who he learns is to be his defense counselor in a trial during which his entire life is to be judged. Did he make the most of his life? Make the right decisions? Was he able to conquer his fears, or did he always take the easy way because he was afraid? The decision of the two Judges (George Wallace and Lillian Lehman) who will hear his case will determine his future. Will he have to `Go back,' and try it all again in another life on earth, or will he be deemed ready to `Move on.' Brooks has created a tableau of colorful, memorable characters here, surrounding Daniel Miller as we follow his progress from one hilarious scene to the next. As Julia, a fellow defendant whom Daniel meets and falls in love with, Meryl Streep is an absolute joy to watch. Lee Grant, as Lena Foster, Daniel's prosecutor, is also in top form. But Rip Torn, as the exuberant Bob Diamond, is the one who practically steals the show, with a performance that should have garnered him a best supporting actor nomination. The scene in which Diamond explains to Daniel that the average person on earth only uses three percent of available brain capacity (he calls them `Little brains') is hysterical. Other memorable scenes involve a visit by Daniel and Julia to the `Past Lives Pavilion,' wherein they encounter a number of surprises, and one in which they are having dinner, and Daniel is embarrassed by a waiter who wants to give him `nine pies' to take home, and by Julia, who digs into a plate of pasta with gusto and sucks in the longest noodle, apparently, in all of Judgment City, and all while Lena Foster looks on from another table across the room; all of which adds up to plenty of laughs. The supporting cast also includes Art Frankel (Arthur), Ernie Brown (Ernie), Gary Beach (Car salesman), Peter Schuck (Stan), Sharlie Stuart, and Buck Henry, doing an especially funny turn as Dick Stanley, a defense counselor who fills in for Bob Diamond one day, and who doesn't like to `toot his own horn.' `Defending Your Life' is a witty, imaginative conjuring by Brooks, who uses his magic formula to deliver a classic comedy that you will want to watch over and over again. And it will be the best you ever tasted, ever. I rate this one 10/10.