Milo 55160

Death has been getting it's cinematic millage in, lately. The popularity of TV shows such as "Six Feet Under" and "Dead Like Me" have shown that the topic has legs for the entertainment industry. "Milo 55160" is David Ostry's short entry into the field, and has a quirky, bemused quality that makes it highly appealing.

Patrick McKenna plays Milo 55160, Death's "worker of the month" and, seemingly, a shoe-in for "worker of the year." He is a grey, monotone bureaucrat in a twenty-first century, outsourced, organization. He shuffles some papers, asks a few questions, and stamps the forms of the newly dead with no more than a "Welcome to Heaven" to usher them into the afterlife.

One day, he encounters a problem not covered by the rulebook -- a Newly Dead boy named Will, who has brought a red yo-yo with him. (We all know, without being told, that "you can't take it with you," but Milo is flummoxed.)

Summoned to the office of one Hedges, the Angel of Death, Milo is told he should just take the yo-yo off the boy, and sever his last tie to Earth. But Milo, who has never missed anything about life, suddenly has qualms about his job.

Perhaps the denouement is a little predictable, but the competent journeyman cast handles it well. The directing is tight, and the art direction quite brilliantly handled. Very worthwhile viewing.