Over Her Dead Body Synopsis: A ghost tries to sabotage her former boyfriend’s current relationship with a psychic.
On her wedding day to Henry (Paul Rudd), Kate (Eva Longoria) is determined that everything will go perfectly. So it’s unacceptable when the ice sculpture angel she ordered shows up without wings. She insists to the ice sculptor that he take it back and bring an angel with wings, leading to an unfortunate accident in which the sculpture falls from the truck, crushing Kate to death. Dun dun!
A year later, Henry, still despondent over his fiance’s death, is brought by his sister to a psychic named Ashley (Lake Bell). There’s hope that if Ashley can contact Kate from the beyond, Henry might find some closure. What happens instead is a scheme devised between Ashley and Henry’s sister, Chloe, to use Kate’s journal to convince Henry that Kate wants him to move on. Unbeknownst to all, Kate’s ghost is watching, and she is determined to ruin the blossoming romance between Ashley and Henry from beyond.
In 2008, Hollywood was churning out quite a few mediocre rom-coms, and Over Her Dead Body happened to be one of them. It’s a movie with much potential but, unfortunately, fell short.
Over Her Dead Body has a fantastic cast. Lake Bell, Paul Rudd, and Stephen Root are all brilliantly funny in their own right. A rom-com with Lake Bell and Paul Rudd? Come on. Those two alone should have made for a classic. Instead, their talents are wasted on a rather bland script that relies on familiar, unfunny gags. If I’m being frank, Bell and Rudd don’t even have much chemistry, which is painful for me to admit.
Eva Longoria is a bit stifled in her role as Kate. She’s stuck in purgatory until she completes her unfinished business, which she believes is protecting Henry from Ashley. She pops up to annoy Ashley and sabotage Ashley and Henry’s relationship, so clearly, she needs help moving on as well, not only from her relationship with Henry but also, you know, life. Ashley has the ability to communicate with Kate, but instead of embracing it and perhaps helping both put the past behind them, she fights with Kate in a way that is very much reminiscent of high school girls chasing the same guy. The premise could have been really fun and funny, but it falls flat.
There is also a subplot where Ashley’s co-worker, Dan (Jason Biggs), pretends to be her gay best friend just to be close to her. It seems unnecessary, but it is explained in some context that because Dan didn’t make a move on her within a week, she assumed he was gay, and… he went with it. I don’t know. I suppose this was a way to set up Henry realizing that he loves Ashley as he finds out she’s leaving town with Dan… her new boyfriend? Again, I don’t know.
To be fair to Over Her Dead Body, there are some humorous moments, and Paul Rudd and Lake Bell are still perfect leads for a rom-com, but maybe just not this one and maybe not together. However, I can’t help but wonder if, given a better script, they would have shined together with the right kind of chemistry.
Watched: 01/12/2024
Notable Song: Move Along by All American Rejects
