He said, she said, ‘Over Her Dead Body’ lukewarm
He said:
“Over Her Dead Body” isn’t the funniest movie ever, but it provides a few laughs before turning into your typical chick flick.
In the beginning, Kate (Eva Longoria Parker) is crushed to death by a statue on her wedding day.
It is almost a relief to see her crushed because of her constant nagging the first five minutes of the movie.
She gives the impression that maybe her wedding was planned on the wrong day of the month, one of those type of women.
A year later Kate comes back to haunt Ashley (Lake Bell), a psychic helping Henry (Paul Rudd) try to connect with his dead fiancée. In the meantime, Ashley and Henry start to fall for each other and Kate does everything in her power to stop it.
When Kate comes back, she is the same lady from the beginning of the movie, nagging and constantly playing her greedy game in hopes of splitting the two.
Many of the tricks Kate plays are funny and guaranteed to keep the viewers entertained.
The rest of the movie portrays the battle for Henry, but Kate is only in half the scenes and for just seconds at a time. When Parker is in a movie, she should be the star.
Add to that a predictable and corny ending that would make any guy cry tears of embarrassment for just being at the movie.
Limited screen time for Parker, few funny parts, and a predictable ending make this movie a slight disappointment.
However, I recommend giving it a chance when taking a girl out, because it is tolerable until the end. It’s definitely not a movie you would want to see by yourself or with other guys.
Rating: C
—Matt Bishop
Staff Writer
She said:
An unsurprising plot is not necessarily a bad thing if you want a pleasant bit of entertainment and a few laughs. “Over Her Dead Bo-dy” delivers just that.
When a tyrannical bride gets killed while running roughshod over the wedding caterers, her fiancée consults a would-be psychic to help him move on.
His sister Chloe (Lindsay Sloane) keeps saying Henry (Paul Rudd) needs to move on because he is “devastated” by the loss of his bride-to-be, but I never got that impression from his actions. Actually, Rudd acts as if he doesn’t really care one way or another and does not put much emotion into the part. He seems to be relieved that Kate (Eva Longoria Parker) is gone.
I can sympathize as most of the audience sighed with relief when she was silenced for a few minutes.
Parker is as annoying in this role as her character is supposed to be. Her lack of acting ability, in addition to the aggravating nature of Kate’s personality, makes the viewer glad she has limited screen time.
The combination of her character and her acting elicited the urge to slap her quiet.
Kate cannot even keep her mouth shut long enough to receive instruction from the angel assigned to her, so the angel (Kali Rocha) leaves. Kate decides on her own that her mission is to protect Henry by keeping him from falling in love with Ashley. Too late. So, instead, she tries to break them up by haunting Ashley.
Except for the fact I don’t believe a nice, funny guy like Henry could possibly miss a nagging shrew like Kate and take as long as he did to fall for the sweet psychic, Ashley (Lake Bell), the plot is predictable.
Dan (Jason Biggs), the gay partner in Ashley’s catering firm, is the type of character that makes you wonder why he is in the movie at all. Biggs is a better comedic actor than this script gives him credit for.
There are a few laughs, and some tender moments. There are also times when two young theater-goers felt it was more entertaining to play a game on their cell phone.
If you are expecting another “Ghost” you will be disappointed.
If you are content with “How I Met My Boyfriend’s Dead Fiancée” you will have a pleasant hour-and-a-half.
Rating: C
—Cynthia Praefke
Staff Writer
