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Afterlife of the Party
Year - 2021
Studio - Netflix
Stars - Victoria Justice, Midori Francis, Robyn Scott
Director - Stephen Herek
Writing Credits - Carrie Freedle
Music - Jessica Rose Weiss
Synopsis (AI Generated)
Cassie (Victoria Justice) is a 24-year-old San Diego party planner who lives for a good time — sometimes at the expense of the people closest to her. During her birthday-week bash, she has a falling-out with her lifelong best friend Lisa (Midori Francis), then dies later that night in a freak bathroom accident after a night of heavy drinking.
Cassie wakes up in "The In-Between," a limbo realm, where she meets her assigned handler, Val (Robyn Scott) — a guardian angel working toward her own halo. Val explains that a full year has actually passed since Cassie's death, and that Cassie has left behind a trail of unresolved relationships. To earn her way to "The Above" (heaven) rather than "The Below" (hell), Cassie has five days to make amends with three people on a list: Lisa, her father Howie (Adam Garcia), and her estranged mother Sofia (Gloria Garcia).
Cassie discovers she and Lisa share such a deep bond that Lisa alone can see, hear, and feel her — everyone else remains oblivious to her presence. Using this connection, Cassie nudges Lisa toward a promotion at the museum where she works and toward romance with her neighbor Max (Timothy Renouf), whom Lisa has been too anxious to pursue. Along the way, Cassie also helps Lisa complete a treasured Mona Lisa jigsaw puzzle the two of them left unfinished.
As Cassie resolves things with her parents, their names vanish from her list — but Lisa's name stubbornly remains. Cassie realizes the final task is metaphorical: she must "make Mona Lisa smile," meaning she has to see Lisa truly happy and settled. She finds and places the last missing puzzle piece just as her five days run out, and Val pulls her back to the In-Between before she can see the effect.
Despite technically missing her deadline, a heavenly tribunal reviews Cassie's selfless efforts and grants her passage to "The Above" anyway, sending her off to her own afterlife party having finally made peace with the people she loved.
Turning to her father, Cassie finds Howie a grieving shell of himself — he's abandoned the yoga and mindfulness practice he once loved and is isolating himself. Working invisibly, Cassie rearranges his home into a peaceful yoga space and sets circumstances in motion to nudge him back toward life, eventually orchestrating a meet-cute between Howie and local baker Emme (Myfanwy Waring).
The hardest task is reconciling with Sofia, the mother who left Cassie and Howie years earlier and only kept in touch through postcards. Cassie learns Sofia has started a new life and has another daughter, Morgan, whom Cassie never met in life. Initially unwilling to forgive her, Cassie eventually witnesses Sofia visit Howie to apologize and comes to understand her mother's guilt and regret, finally letting go of her resentment..
As Cassie resolves things with her parents, their names vanish from her list — but Lisa's name stubbornly remains. Cassie realizes the final task is metaphorical: she must "make Mona Lisa smile," meaning she has to see Lisa truly happy and settled. She finds and places the last missing puzzle piece just as her five days run out, and Val pulls her back to the In-Between before she can see the effect.
Despite technically missing her deadline, a heavenly tribunal reviews Cassie's selfless efforts and grants her passage to "The Above" anyway, sending her off to her own afterlife party having finally made peace with the people she loved.