Sidewalks On The Corner

The lovely Eva Longoria-Parker is a big star on TV, but can she carry a leading role on the big screen? Find out in New Line Cinema's OVER HER DEAD BODY.

Follow up:

OVER HER DEAD BODY
New Line Cinema
Director: Jeff Lowell
Rated: PG-13

Synopsis:
Devastated when his fiancée Kate (Eva Longoria Parker, Desperate Housewives, "The Sentinel") is killed on their wedding day, Henry (Paul Rudd, "Knocked Up," "The 40 Year Old Virgin," TV's Friends) reluctantly agrees to consult a psychic named Ashley (Lake Bell, Boston Legal) at the urging of his sister Chloe (Lindsay Sloane, "The In-Laws," "Bring it On"). Despite his skepticism over her psychic abilities, Henry finds himself falling hard for Ashley, and vice versa. But there is a big snag. Ashley is being haunted by Kate’s ghost, who considers it her heavenly duty to break up Henry and Ashley's fledgling romance, if it is the last thing she does on this earthly plane. The film also stars Jason Biggs ("American Pie," "Saving Silverman," "Eight Below") as Dan, a gay best friend of Ashley, who also runs a catering company.

Justin's Take:
I hate to sound like a typical male, but usually I don't care for some romantic/comedy films, although "Pretty Woman" changed my mind the first time I watched it. In the case of "Over Her Dead Body", I'm starting to have a slight change of heart for the genre. In this charming and sweet romantic/comedy/fantasy, Kate (Longoria-Parker) passes on to the afterlife on her wedding day. But has she really moved on? It's the basis for a good story you would think, but over the extent of the film it felt like I was watching an extended episode of The Ghost Whisperer (not that I have anything against that Jennifer Love Hewitt show; it's actually pretty interesting).

Longoria-Parker playing Kate is no stretch of her imagination as she slightly resurrected the character "Gaby" from her hit ABC series, Desperate Housewives. Surprisingly, she appears in only a hand full of scenes, however, if it wasn't for her comedic efforts, the movie would have lugged like a flat tire.

The characters are generic and simple, enough so that there is room to tell the story without being bogged down by how many people are involved. This made it easier to care about the characters. The supporting cast played things very precisely, which seemed very paint by numbers, but overall they did a nice job.

"Over Her Dead Body" is a cute, silly lighthearted film with some nice moments and chuckles. For me it's not something I would run to the theaters to see, it's more of a rainy day rental. For those of you who love romantic comedies, by all means race to the theaters.