Movie review: Over Her Dead Body

Beware drunken sculptors bearing gifts.

by John P. Meyer

Anyone who's watched the lovely Eva Longoria in Desperate Housewives will have no trouble coming to grips with her character in the movie Over Her Dead Body, because it's pretty much the same one. Eva (who now bills herself as Eva Longoria Parker, in deference to roundballer-hubby Tony) essays the role of Kate, an elegant young woman of the "appearances are everything" school who's bustling about on the day of her wedding making sure the preparations for the gala event are going smoothly. Enter the iceman.

The iceman cometh in the person of character actor Stephen Root (last seen in No Country for Old Men portraying "Man who hires Wells"). Mr. Root (billed only as "Sculptor") bears in the bed of his pickup truck a moderately-malformed, life-sized ice sculpture of a purported angel, to be used as some sort of wedding centerpiece. While Kate tries to explain to the inebriated artist that angels are supposed to have wings (and when you gaze upon the face of this crystalline travesty you will likely feel as I do that the missing wings are the least of its troubles), he begins backing his pickup towards the reception tent where the "angel" is to be off-loaded.

To make a short story shorter, Kate ends up in the icy embrace of the toppling demi-angel, and it's the last earthly experience she will know. You might say that global warming didn't come fast enough for her.

Following this pre-nuptial tragedy, Henry (Paul Rudd) - Kate's intended - enters into a period of distraught introversion leavened only by the occasional attempts of his sister (Lindsay Sloane, as Chloe) to cheer him up and get him out of the house. She even resorts to introducing him to an acquaintance of hers who dabbles in psychic readings. Enter Lake Bell as Ashley, who consents to have a go at exploring the psychic periphery of the hangdog Henry in hopes of finding a message from Kate along the lines of "forget about me and get on with your dang life, already."

Unsurprisingly in terms of lightweight romantic comedy story lines such as this, Ashley turns out to be both comely and enthusiastically available. We're given to understand that she and the dour Henry are mildly-to-middlingly attracted to each other, and Henry soon finds an excuse to return for another hand-holding go at contacting the dead Kate. (Their first attempt was interrupted when Ashley's gay catering partner, Dan (Jason Biggs), set himself on fire in the course of making canapes. Since this is lightweight romantic comedy he simply douses his flaming arm in a bubbling bouillabaisse and screams a bit, and all's well.)

Complicating any chance they might have for short-to-long-term happiness, the spirit of Kate reappears (in spectral fashion) to make sure her former almost-spouse is doing O.K.; since she's played by Eva Longoria (Parker), known on Housewives for her feistiness and petty egocentricity, it should surprise no one that she decides in her clueless ghostly way that this Ashley person will be bad for her man, and so begins the process of haunting her. She appears quite unequivocally to Ashley and tells her to lay off or else.

Ashley, for her part, is rather taken with Henry and thus perseveres in the face of a series of mildly-comedic psychic assaults. Upon arriving with Henry at the romantic hideaway in which they plan to spend a weekend cavorting amidst sweaty sheets, Kate orchestrates a series of faux Henry farts, calling to mind the campfire scene from Blazing Saddles. Only more so.

You get the idea, and if you don't then this may be just the weekend cinematic outing you've been waiting for.

What gives this exercise in rote romantic filmmaking a bit of a boost is a fine lead performance by Ms. Bell, who will be familiar to long-time viewers of Boston Legal; she played office naughty-girl Sally Heep, fond of trysting with associates in the file closet and dancing half-naked on tables in her off hours. As those who followed her career through 15 episodes of the doomed TV underwater monster series Surface will attest, Ms. Bell is a decent actress - and easy on the eyes, to boot. Here, she shows us something more, and I'm not just referring to the overflowing handful of boobs she shuttles out of the women's shower of her health club when a spectral voice tells her the building's on fire. (Although that in itself is certainly worthy of mention.)

Many of the comedic bits embedded in the screenplay (crafted by Jeff Lowell, who also first-time directs) either fall like a disturbed soufflé or find themselves isolated between long stretches of tedious exposition; one hopes that director Lowell will take to heart the message that no cinematic prank is an island in terms of his future funny film projects.

As for noteworthy accomplishments, Over Her Dead Body is a shoo-in for the "best use of green parrot as a comedic device" award, should one such ever be instated. Oh, and "best overflowing handful of boobs," of which this represents the nonpareil.

NON-SEQUITUR ALERT: "Relax - it's your wedding day." - Henry to Kate

SEES ALL, KNOWS ALL?: "You bring all your psychics here?" - Ashley to Henry, re. scenic waterfront locale

"You really should know the answer to that." - Henry to Ashley

BEST USE OF GREEN PARROT: "Are you talking to me through my bird?" - Henry to bird

"Yes." - bird to Henry