Over Her Dead Body (2008) starring Eva Longoria, Paul Rudd, Lake Bell, Jason Biggs, Lindsay Sloane, Stephen Root directed by Jeff Lowell Movie Review

Over Her Dead Body (2008)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Eva Longoria and Lake Bell in Over Her Dead Body (2008)

Desperate House Ghost

In the world of cinema "Over Her Dead Body" is as ordinary as they come, a 100% typical romantic comedy which whilst not bad is not very good either. That is not a criticism because it means that "Over Her Dead Body" is on par with many modern romantic comedies which end up trading on its cast's appeal rather than storyline, romance and wit. But it does mean that "Over Her Dead Body" is obvious, rarely really funny or romantic and ultimately forgettable.

On Henry (Paul Rudd - I Could Never Be Your Woman) and Kate's (Eva Longoria - The Sentinel) big day an accident with an angel ice sculpture leads to Kate being killed and left in limbo as a ghost. It also leaves Henry in limbo as he is unable to move on with his life so his sister Chloe (Lindsay Sloane) persuades him to see a psychic called Ashley (Lake Bell - It's Complicated) to try and find some way to move on even giving Ashley Kate's diary in order to make sure she convinces Henry to move on. The trouble is that not only do Ashley and Henry fall for each other but Kate as a ghost is unimpressed and haunts Ashley, making her life a misery till she stops seeing Henry.

Paul Rudd in Over Her Dead Body (2008)

From the minute we discover that not only is Kate a ghost in limbo but also that Ashley has been secretly given Kate's diary "Over Her Dead Body" becomes 100% predictable. You can guess that at some point Henry will find out that Ashley used Kate's diary and become upset by it but also that Kate will do her best to stop Ashley and Henry being together only to realise Henry is unhappy without her. "Over Her Dead Body" is that obvious and the only time it isn't is when it comes to Dan, Ashley's assistant and gay friend, a typical character in these sort of movies but one with a twist, well sort of a twist because you would have to be daft not to guess something.

What this all means is that "Over Her Dead Body" plays out in a typical fashion with us supposed to enjoy Ashley and Henry falling in love whilst laughing at when ever Kate sabotages things. I say meant to because like so many modern romantic comedies it is neither romantic nor funny and is part of the reason why "Over Her Dead Body" is forgettable. I suppose if I was a young teen the humour of Kate floating over Ashley and Henry in bed on a romantic weekend might make me laugh but as an adult it barely raised a smile. It's the same through out be it humour about gay friend Dan or even from Kate being bossy.

That brings me to what "Over Her Dead Body" is really all about and that is the various actors and actresses. Now whilst both Paul Rudd and Lake Bell are okay together there is nothing memorable about their characters or what they say, basically limp romantic comedy stuff. But then there is Eva Longoria and you can say that Longoria is basically playing her "Desperate Housewives" character of Gabrielle Solis, being bossy and demanding whilst also a whiney pain. It sort of works if you have watched "Desperate Housewives" but for those who haven't she ends up annoying rather than amusing.

What this all boils down to is that "Over Her Dead Body" is just a typical modern romantic comedy which is neither funny nor romantic. Compared to other romantic comedies there isn't much wrong with it but it is just another ordinary, obvious romantic comedy and nothing more.


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