rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2008
Directed by Jeff Lowell; produced by Paul Brooks, Peter Safran; written by Jeff Lowell
Starring Paul Rudd, Eva Longoria Parker, Lake Bell, Jason Biggs, Lindsay Sloane, Stephen Root
'Over Her Dead Body' is a film filled with clichés, but kind of saved by comedy talent Paul Rudd and the sweetness of Lake Bell. The story involves a bride who died on her wedding day, only the haunt the new girl – who happens to be a psychic – in the groom’s life. The bride is played by Desperate Housewives’ Eva Longoria Parker. Her characters both in the film and Housewives are a little alike: bitchy, but quite nice in the end.
The different elements, like Longoria’s character, are not original. Ashley the psychic (Bell) does some catering on the side with Dan, her best friend who of course is gay. Henry (Rudd), who visits Ashley because his sister Chloe (Lindsay Sloane) wants to, does not believe in psychics, of course again. And Ashley knows so much about Henry and Kate (the dead bride) – before she appears for real that is – because Chloe gave her Kate’s diary. The romantic comedy provides the break-up, before the lovers can get together again, always early in the film.
But admittedly 'Over Her Dead Body' is funny and sweet, even though it is predictable. Some of the jokes work just because of Rudd, Bell and Biggs. The bad jokes are not spoiling those that do work. The only disappointing thing is Longoria, although I am not sure it is her fold. She and Rudd are supposed to be the leading people, but for her there is nothing to work with. The focus is entirely on Bell and Rudd. This is not a real problem, but suggests more comedy than we actually find.