Over Her Dead Body – (film review; opens Feb. 1)
During her hiatus from the hit series “Desperate Housewives,” Eva Longoria Parker obviously wanted to avoid artistic challenges and hard work.
That’s evident from her choice of the featherweight romantic comedy “Over Her Dead Body” as her first major big-screen starring vehicle. The perfectly tanned 32-year-old actress never works up a sweat or generates much excitement during this tale about a ghost who tries to ruin a budding relationship between her former fiancé, Henry (Paul Rudd of “Knocked Up”), and a struggling psychic, Ashley (Lake Bell of TV’s “Boston Legal”).
As the PG-13 picture opens, the tightly wound Kate (Longoria Parker) is driving the catering staff crazy with last-minute demands for her wedding reception. The bride-to-be dies when she’s crushed by an ice sculpture, and in the year that follows, the deeply depressed Henry experiences problems getting on with his life.
His well-meaning sister (Lindsay Sloane of “Nancy Drew”) gives the psychic some inside information about her brother and then convinces Ashley to pretend the spirit of Kate gave her the private details. Things quickly go out of control as Kate’s feisty ghost, who can’t move on to heaven until she completes a mission of mercy, does appear and makes life miserable for both Ashley and Henry as they fall for each other.
Also in the mix is Dan (Jason Biggs of “American Pie”), a gay man who is partners with Ashley in a catering business. He has romantic issues that also cloud the strained plot.
Longoria Parker, who previously appeared on the big screen in supporting roles opposite Michael Douglas in the conspiracy thriller “The Sentinel” (2006) and Christian Bale in the intense melodrama “Harsh Times” (2005), should be taking much better care with her career choices.
This type of frivolous fare works when supported by a witty script, but the debuting director Jeff Lowell and the other talents behind “Over Her Dead Body” have created something that turns out to be deadly when it should be delightful.
—
FILM REVIEW
“Over Her Dead Body”
Grade: C-
Starring: Eva Longoria Parker, Paul Rudd, Lake Bell, Lindsay Sloane and Jason Biggs; written and directed by Jeff Lowell.
Running Time: 95 minutes.
Parental Guide: PG-13 rating (Sexual content, language).