Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Over Her Dead Body *


Director: Jeff Lowell
Cast: Eva Longoria Parker, Paul Rudd
Lake Bell, Jason Biggs, Lindsay Sloane

Kate (Longoria Parker) is a control freak who can't even relax on the day of her wedding to Henry (Rudd).
While running around supervising everything and making things go her way she suffers a freakish accident that kills her.
One year later Henry still hasn't moved on, so his sister (the awkwardly charming Sloane) takes him to visit Ashley (Bell) an aspiring medium, who doesn't succeed in contacting Kate, until he falls for her.
From then on, the film turns into a preposterous, unfunny catfight between the dead and the living.
The fact that the plot seems to be a mediocre "Ghost" ripoff isn't as offensive as the clichés and stereotypes it reccurs to create a plot.
Director Lowell exploits every single element that results enfuriating instead of funny, including a distasteful gay subplot with Biggs' character.
When it comes to Longoria Parker, who gives more of a glorified cameo than a real performance (and not a very good one at that either...) the film seems to punish her for her strong, empowering beliefs.
If Lowell thinks that the easiest way to change his characters' ideals is to have them wacked, the person with the problem might not be the one in front of the camera.

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