Marry My Dead Body (2023)

Marry My Dead Body (2023)

R

Slapstick and sentimentality repel each other and the viewer in this Taiwanese supernatural-crime-comedy

4.8

Movie

Taiwan
Mandarin
Action, Comedy, Mystery
2023
CHENG WEI-HAO
Austin Lin, Gingle Wang, Greg Hsu
130 min

TL;DR

Side effects of viewing may include intense side-eyes, a perpetually-dropped jaw, and an inexplicable headache.

What it's about

Marry My Dead Body is a supernatural comedy about a homophobic cop who is forced to marry a gay ghost in order to solve a crime.

The take

Fifteen minutes into Marry My Dead Body, it becomes clear where this supernatural crime dramedy is going; the only question is if the two-hour runtime is worth it. It has “don't drop the soap" bits that will cause severe whiplash, and sporadic mentions of misogyny that are just as offensive. As an action film, there's nothing notable or memorable about it, and as a drama, there isn't enough emotional substance to overshadow the childish antics of our protagonists. If anything, Greg Hsu as Wu Ming-han and Austin Lin as Mao Pang-yu have a chemistry that somehow survives everything thrown its way. But don’t let curiosity get the better of you—as absurd as it sounds, the film isn’t nearly as exciting as it sounds. 

What stands out

The weak attempt to take any of its serious issues…seriously. Yes, Ming-han is homophobic. Then he suddenly isn’t, and it’s never made clear how his ideology can harm people beyond Mao Mao. Yes, Mao Mao cared about the environment. But his concern is a blip in a montage that’s played up for comedy. Even the antagonists’ drug-peddling antics never feel like a real threat; their harm is never really exposed and treated as the danger that is. Even if you had an okay time watching this film, nothing will stick out after the credits roll.

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