My quick rating - 6.5/10. If your marriage is hanging by a thread, maybe don't book a romantic weekend away in a secluded cabin. And if you do, perhaps avoid bringing along a fully developed murder plan. Over Your Dead Body takes that relationship advice, tosses it out the nearest window, and spends the next 106 minutes seeing just how badly things can spiral when two people decide divorce paperwork is simply too much effort.
After a brief setup introducing our deeply unhappy couple, Dan (Jason Segel) and Lisa (Samara Weaving), the pair hit the road for an argument-filled drive to a remote cabin where they're supposedly going to repair their marriage. Repair might be a strong word, considering both have secretly arrived with plans to kill the other.
Weaving continues to prove she's one of the most reliable performers working in this type of dark comedy space. Her Australian accent is definitely making less of an effort to hide this time around. And good, it adds to the charm. I've enjoyed her work for years, and recent films like Eenie Meanie showed she can easily carry a movie on her own. Segel also feels right at home playing a guy whose confidence far exceeds his competence.
The film wastes little time getting into its central gimmick. Dan's murder attempt goes about as smoothly as a shopping trolley with three wheels, leaving him tied up while Lisa calmly explains her own plan with a double-barrel shotgun in hand. Naturally, we then get to hear Dan's version of events through a flashback showing how he prepared his own scheme five days earlier.
The story repeatedly jumps backward with "X amount of time earlier" segments, and surprisingly, it works. Each flashback adds another piece to the puzzle while introducing more people who absolutely should not be anywhere near this situation. Before long, Henry (Jake Curran), escaped inmates Pete (Timothy Olyphant) and Todd (Keith 'The Dean of Mean' Jardine), along with officer Allegra (Juliette Lewis), come crashing into the story. Quite literally in some cases.
What follows is a steadily escalating disaster where nearly every plan falls apart within minutes. While the tone remains darkly humorous for the majority of the film, the movie also adopts a rather cartoonish approach to its depiction of violence. Blood sprays freely, and common sense takes an extended vacation. The scene involving Dan's father, Michael (Paul Guilfoyle), was one of the funniest moments in the entire film and had me laughing harder than I expected.
Over Your Dead Body never pretends to be anything other than a popcorn movie. Convenience seems to rule the situation here, but the characters' decision-making skills are extremely substandard, and the bodies begin piling up one after another. Luckily, this film is well aware of what it is and takes everything to heart. The wrap-up felt fitting, entertaining, and completely in line with the madness that came before it.
Throw this one on, enjoy the dark humor, watch the blood fly, and don't spend too much time questioning the logic. The movie certainly doesn't. Oh, apparently this is based on a Norwegian flick called I Onde Dager or The Trip, which I have not seen (and is sitting on my watchlist, dammit).
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