As far as film genres go, the romantic comedy is one of the most formulaically rigid; the necessary ingredients are so specific, it can be difficult to put them together in fresh or inventive ways. So, many filmmakers attempt to bring new life to the rom-com skeleton by injecting it with all the tropes and trappings of a whole separate genre. Sometimes that means taking a rom-com and dressing it up in comic book clothes—like My Super Ex-Girlfriend. More often, it means mingling the rom-com plot with some vaguely mystical plotlines that, at their best, elevate a standard love story into something a bit more otherworldly—as in Ghost and the more recent Just Like Heaven are two prime examples of the latter.
Paul Rudd as Henry
Add to that short list Over Her Dead Body, a film with a title indicative not only of its tilt toward supernaturalism, but also its general level of corniness. The basic skeleton of the story is nothing particularly new or exciting—a guy and a girl get together despite odds working against them, they fall in love, there is some miscommunication that leads to a painful break-up, and, in a last-ditch, make-it-or-break-it attempt to save the relationship, one party makes a broad, confessional speech to the other in hopes that honesty and true love will win the day. Looks like a rom-com, talks like a rom-com, smells like a rom-com. But there's a bit more to it than that: The story also involves ghosts, fortune tellers, communication with other worlds, and, in one scene, even an exorcism.
It's not a bad premise for a rom-com, really: A year ago, Henry (Paul Rudd) lost his fiancée, Kate (Eva Longoria Parker) on the day of their wedding, and now his sister Chloe (Lindsay Sloane) has dragged him to the home of a psychic, Ashley (Lake Bell). Chloe's hope is that Ashley will communicate with Kate's spirit and convince Henry that it's time for him to move on with his life. It turns out that Ashley isn't quite as gifted as she'd like to think she is, and so Chloe gives her Kate's old diary, hoping that Ashley can use the information therein to convince Henry that she really has heard from his dead fiancee's ghost.
Evan Longoria Parker as Kate
The plot thickens—or at least gets really hokey—when Kate's ghost really does return to the mortal realm and talks to Ashley, but not in order to help Henry—not in the way Chloe and Ashley had hoped, anyway. You see, by this time, Ashley and Henry have begun to fall in love with each other, but Kate is one heck of a jealous ghost, and she's convinced that she will not reach her eternal rest until she "protects" Henry from Ashley. And so she takes on the role of the saboteur, doing everything within her considerable power to humiliate and frustrate Ashley, hoping that she will eventually give up and leave Henry alone and miserable.
In more capable hands, it might have been a fun little flick, but writer/director Jeff Lowell (a sitcom writer making his directorial debut) and his cast don't seem to have a very good grasp on the material. Lowell takes a potentially funny idea and packs the movie with dumb, lowbrow attempts at humor that distract from the story and insult our intelligence. For example, while two characters carry on an important conversation, we see images in the background of two veterinary assistants trying to hoist a corpulent dog onto an exam table; a better director would have been confident enough to allow the scene to be funny on its own rather than cheapening it with something so broad. In a later scene, Kate deceives Ashley into running out of a shower and into a crowded gym, exposing herself to a group of men—an episode that seems more fitting for one of Lowell's sitcoms than a feature film.
Lake Bell as Ashley
The cast seems equally oblivious. Paul Rudd's deadpan delivery is perfect for his supporting roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, but here he seems like he's sleeping through the whole thing—or perhaps in need of some Pepto Bismol. Eva Longoria Parker is even worse; basically playing the same character she plays on Desperate Housewives, Parker is completely and utterly repulsive throughout the entire movie, neither funny nor likeable. Only rising star Lake Bell is fun to watch, managing to find some personality in her character despite the fact that, half the time, she's simply the brunt of some lowbrow gag (like the one mentioned above).
Christian moviegoers will also want to note one scene in which the film's vague, innocuous supernaturalism crosses over into making fun of religion. Ashley eventually becomes so frustrated with Kate's ghost that she recruits a local priest (William Morgan Sheppard) to perform an exorcism. When his tactic seems to make Kate disappear, he is as surprised as anyone, baffled by the fact that his reading of Scripture actually worked—and then, after he leaves, Kate reappears, scoffing at Ashley for actually believing in something so silly as religious "hocus pocus."
The film isn't a total wash; there are enough funny moments that, for those desperate for something amusing and romantic this Valentine's Day, Over Her Dead Body might do in a pinch. (A final scene, with Kate communicating through the voice of Henry's parrot, is rather humorous.) For the most part, though, the movie feels like a wasted opportunity—a promising idea that tries to breathe some new life into a formulaic genre, but mostly just muddles things up.
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>Talk About It
Discussion starters
What view does the film take of the afterlife? How do Kate's mission on Earth, her ghostly body, the woman in the white room, etc. square with biblical teaching?
What view does the film seem to take of religion—particularly in the scene with the priest?
Which of the female leads—Ashley and Kate—do you find to be more sympathetic? Can you relate to Kate's feelings? Do you think she loves Henry?
How do you feel about the treatment of Dan at the end of the film? Do you think Henry and Ashley do the right thing?
The Family Corner
For parents to consider
Over Her Dead Body is rated PG-13 for sexual content and language. There are about a dozen or so profanities, including a couple of uses of the Lord's name in vain. There is also one scene of heavy sexuality and innuendo, though no nudity or explicit sex is seen. In another scene, we see a female character wearing next to nothing, covering her bare chest with her arm. And there's a scene involving a priest that assumes a mocking attitude toward religious faith.
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