SYNOPSIS:
Kate is an exceptionally beautiful, exceedingly
demanding and extremely controlling human being who picks
at every detail in life. She is engaged to Henry, a veterinarian
and the only person who can calm her down. On her wedding
day, Kate's accidentally killed by an ice sculpture.
A year later, with Henry unable to move on with life, his
sister convinces him that what he needs is permission from
Kate's spirit to start life anew. At her urging and though
greatly skeptica, he agrees to meet a psychic, Ashley.
Ashley begins to fall for Henry but Kate actually does reveal
herself as a disgruntled and possessive ghost and Ashley is
the only person who can see and talk to her. Kate is upset
that Ashley has designs on her former fiance. However, Ashley
decides to fight back to get what she truly wants - Henry...
Before Kate can pass through the pearly gates of Heaven, she
must figure out what her unfinished earthly business is so
she can move on. With a little divine intervention from an
angel, Kate slowly recognises that she must allow Henry to
find new happiness. Her overbearing need to protect him from
enjoying his life with another woman has only served to sabotage
his future joy. When she finally accepts that Ashley is the
key to Henry's newfound happiness, she knows what she must
do...
MOVIE REVIEW:
Eva Longoria Parker probably has Desperate Housewives to thank
for propelling her to
stardom, but as to her foray onto the big screen, she'll certainly
need to get a
breakthrough role for everyone to sit up and take notice.
Bit parts or supporting
roles in Harsh Times, The Sentinel and The Heartbreak Kid
didn't provide for that,
and while she might seem as the lead in Over Her Dead Body,
the truth is co-stars
Paul Rudd and Lake Bell get more screen time than her.
The
plot is nothing to shout about, given it's again something
involving spirits who
continue to roam the earth because of unfinished business,
which Parker's Kate think
is to protect her fiance Henry (Rudd) from the advances of
fraud psychic Ashley
(Bell). Henry still couldn't get over Kate's death on their
wedding day, and sister
Chloe (Lindsay Sloane) decided that for her brother to snap
out of his
self-deprecating and destructive mode, would be to get him
to see a psychic to make
contact with Kate's spirit, in the hope that she'll tell him
to move on.
But
of course things start to change when feelings from both Henry
and Ashley begin
to turn into some real, that Kate decides to break things
up, only to learn about
her true mission on earth. So you get the usual threesome
interaction and recycled
jokes such as having Ashley seem to go crazy when she speaks
to nobody, and for her
to constantly combat Kate's spirit and vie for the attention
of their common beau.
Why Ashley seemed to be the only one who can see Kate is left
unexplained, so don't
bother to try and figure out why.
So
the jokes come expected, and the story coasts along familiar
lines, but the
subplot involving Jason Bigg's gay character Dan was something
that came out of the
blue. While we know Bigg is also stuck in a rut himself with
most of his characters
being loser types no thanks to the resounding success of American
Pie, his character
story here talks about extreme lengths one would go to pursue
something, which on
one hand I thought was admirable, and the other end, just
plain stupid, as you don't
sacrifice the entire forest for one tree.
This
is no doubt a flat out chick flick that could have been better
if it managed to differentiate itself from the countless of
clones out there, but it might serve as perfect fodder for
a lazy weekend afternoon. There are some flashes of brilliance,
but too little too late to have salvaged this from mediocrity.
Eva Longoria Parker, sorry, but your performances to date
in feature films have not been good enough, and I fear you
might just go the route of many television actors who have
failed in their attempt to cross over to celluloid.
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Presented
in anamorphic widescreen, there's no visible dirt, pops or
cackles. Audio is available in its original English track
only.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING:
Review by Stefan Shih
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