There is a certain wicked appeal to the idea that the dead will haunt bigots. I kinda wish this were a thing. Like, “go ahead, be a bigot, discriminate against any race, creed, color, perceived gender, sexual preference or m&m you choose, but know that the cost is you’ll be haunted.” It almost seems like a fair trade-off.
Detective Wu Ming-han (Greg Hsu) is an up-and-comer. Or he would be were he not such a freaking tool. Sadly sexist and bigoted and full of himself at the same time, Wu seems like a scandal waiting to happen. It is only a matter of time. While doing the reckless car chase thing to catch a mediocre villain, Wu has to go collect evidence strewn by the fleeing suspect. This is presented as shameful consequences for Wu’s safety-last behavior.
Going “alone” to a public park, Wu collects a red envelope. In Chinese culture, red envelopes are often messages of good fortune. Here? Well, I can’t say it wasn’t good fortune, but the second Wu touches the thing, he’s set upon by a gaggle of Taiwanese biddies congratulating him for accidently accepting a dead grandson’s hand.
I’m not even sure where to begin … he picked up an envelope and suddenly he’s wed to a ghost? Does it matter at this point that he’s not attracted to the ghost? I’m guessing no. Oh, I see, he can reject this offer, but evil will befall him. Well, of course it will. Next scene, our douche-y cop
is chasing a garbage truck for $5 and gets hit by a car. Broken arm. Pretty soon, even Wu can see the writing on the wall, as well as the ghost of Mao Mao (Austin Lin). Why not get married to a ghost? What’s the worst that could happen?
Strangely, this is where Marry My Dead Body (a weirdly charismatic title, no?) gets likable. Turns out, Mao Mao demonstrates that beggers can be choosers; he doesn’t want to marry a bigot anymore than Wu wants to marry a dead ghost man. But maybe these two can work together, right? It will take some convincing, of course. One easy way to convince a living person to get on board is to take over his body … especially when he’s just out of the shower.
Needless to say, there are definitely moments to enjoy in Marry My Dead Body. It’s useful to have a ghost detective on your side. Who else can investigate corruption without fear of getting caught? And I certainly appreciate the effort to which the film wanted to change Wu from a douche into a reasonable human being. Those winning facets aside, the film is too long and the “gotcha” moment is, sadly, far-fetched. Marry My Dead Body makes a cute gimmick film about tolerance and understanding, but fails as a police procedural. You can’t have it all; where would you put it?
There was once a cop most slanted
Who was handed a fate unenchanted
The man had to wed
A fellow who’s dead
He learned never to take freedom for granted
Rated TV-MA, 130 Minutes
Director: Wei-Hao Cheng
Writer: Wei-Hao Cheng, Lai Chih-liang, Sharon Wu
Genre: Ghostbuds
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: The recently deceased
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who don’t appreciate ghostbullies
