Over Her Dead Body (2008)

Sadly Over-hyped

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Over Her Dead Body wants to be an updated version of Topper but by making the ghost Kate (Eva Longoria) so unappealing and irritating, it damaged the premise of the film.Henry (Paul Rudd) is due to marry Kate his highly strung and bossy fiancé who dies on their wedding day when the ice sculpture falls on her.Death does not put a stop to her motor-mouth and bossiness where in the afterlife she is sent back to earth in spirit form but without any clear direction.In the meantime Henry who has been moping around for some time has been introduced to a psychic by his sister who is hoping that he will move on from Kate. The psychic Ashley (Lake Bell) becomes interested in Henry herself, however Kate for some reason thinks that it is her job to put an end to this budding relationship in the hope that this will get her to move on in the afterlife. Therefore she causes havoc for Ashley like getting her to run naked from the showers in a gym or trying to set her alight.Lake Bell showed charm with a flimsy script. Rudd was bland as the nice guy vet but is not stretched by the material. Longoria is just annoying. Bell and Jason Biggs try to get laughs from some slapstick but the script is an unfunny mess.

After the first five minutes this movie just 'flatlines'. It's dead!The first five minutes actually got my interest and curiosity up to see where this story was going. Eva Longoria is convincing as the hyper bossy bride to be obsessing on her wedding day set up. But then she and the movie just die - dead!The movie becomes a struggle to watch after just five minutes and the empty attempts at humor are actually depressing and sad. The only positive opinion I can offer is that the sets and clothes and colors are very nice and pleasing to see. If it had not been for that I would have been completely depressed at the end of the movie.I felt sorry for the actors. And the Jason Biggs character twist near the end was needless and ridiculous.

This is a great film.I agreed to watch a chick flick and some how ended up with this. I had never heard of it or anyone in it (excpet Mike from Friends).But it is great! Eva, Lake and Paul give amazing performances. The humour is consistently dry and witty.Paul Rudd pretty much plays the mike character from Friends (which works great). The other characters are stereotypes and the plot is formulaic (I mean we are not talking 'Apocalypse Now' here) But the characters are likable, the story is engaging, the soundtrack, production and direction all work well.In all a great feel-good film that really deserves a lot more credit than it gets.Everyone has their own tastes but I really don't understand the one star reviews for this.

I took a flyer in renting this movie but I gotta say, it was very, very good. On all fronts: script, cast, director, photography, and high production values, etc. Proves Eva Longoria Parker is head and shoulders in rom/com above bad actors such as Kate Hudson and Jennifer Aniston, who mug and call it acting. Who'da thunk it?Parker and Isla Fisher are in a class by themselves in this regard and should try to hold out for projects as good as "Over Her Dead Body." Lake Bell is excellent, too, and this is the first time I have seen her. And finally, Paul Rudd gets to shine in a really good movie, instead of lesser films.A movie like this never gets its dues from close-minded males. It's too bad. As other IMDb reviewers here have noted, there is nothing lame about this gem --no hack writing or acting. And its depiction of contemporary L.A. and California, in general, makes every scene look bright, beautiful, clean, and otherwise outstanding in every way. Never before has a movie made L.A. look so good. Ah, what a little talent and a lot of caring can do for a movie.I won't divulge the plot, but as a long-time and hard-core atheist, I was willing to suspend disbelief and buy into the supernatural theme in order to enjoy an excellent and light-hearted piece of entertainment. It reminds me very much of the old "Topper" movies, which were also so enjoyable.This movie exposes popular, but otherwise hackneyed, movies like "Ghost" for the mediocre and overly sentimental crap fests they are. We already know the public taste leans heavily toward the mediocre. Some of us save our praise for the truly worthy, however.If you have enjoyed other overlooked gems such as "Into the Night" with Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Goldblum and Clu Gulager, "Blind Date" with Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger, "American Dreamer" with JoBeth Williams, "Chances Are" with Robert Downey Jr., Christopher McDonald and Cybil Sheppard, "Making Mr. Right" with John Malkovich, etc., you'll enjoy this. A first-rate job all around (even if it's kinda hard to believe a straight guy can pretend to be gay for more than five years.) But even that plot device doesn't detract from the movie's overall excellence.