Dark comedy with a too-familiar premise: woman catches her husband in bed with her sister and, after a scuffle, thinks she's killed her. She and her cheating husband attempt to dispose the body but come up against many screwball obstacles. Despite good leads Elizabeth Perkins and Judge Reinhold, the picture falls flat. It tries hard, but flails about. The script had possibilities, despite the overall feel of been-here-done-this, and the director can't work up much originality with such a slim budget. Disappointing and lackluster unreleased theatrical film was mentioned in the trades for a few years (always with a different title) and finally made it to video in 1990. *1/2 from ****

Do you like films with plastic caricatures instead of characters, doing stupid things in order to advance an one-note plot that has worn out its welcome within the first ten minutes, and mumbling to themselves for the duration? If your answer is "Yes", this tiresome and unfunny comedy is right up your alley. If it is "No", SKIP IT! (*)

Let me first say that I am not by any means a lover of dark comedies. In fact, I have the tendency to hate that sub-genre more than almost any other (there are exceptions). I rented this rare movie, which I was surprised to even find, because of the cast. I kept my eyes off of any information about the movie before I saw it so I could keep my mind open, and I was very pleased with the result. I found myself laughing and chuckling frequently, something I was not expecting.The plot focuses on two central characters: Jane (Elizabeth Perkins) and Harry (Judge Reinhold). Harry is one of his small desert city's few police officers. He is married to Enid (Maureen Mueller), a really nasty woman that abuses Harry. He's been having an affair with Enid's ditsy sister Jane. Enid catches them in the act one morning, which leads to a hilarious fight that results with Jane smashing a statue over Enid's head and killing her. Harry and Jane do some quick decision making and choose to not report the true story, but instead devise a way of making Enid's death look like an accident. But since Harry's partner (Jeffrey Jones) is outside the house, honking the car horn for Harry to come out, Jane must dispose of the body herself. Harry tells her what to do and leaves, but when Jane tries to accomplish it, she fails. So she calls up Harry to get her out of the jam. This happens over and over again, and each instance is pretty humorous. Many people seem to compare this to the `Weekend at Bernie's' movies. I can sort of see where the comparison is coming from by listening to the premise, but I didn't notice any comparison while I watched it. There is a limp body, but Maureen Mueller isn't required to do the outrageous stuff that Terry Kiser was in his pair of films. Admittedly the `Bernie's' movies are better than `Over Her Dead Body' thanks to Kiser, but this one shouldn't be overlooked. What makes it funny in addition to the situations are the quirky characters. Both Reinhold and Perkins are funny, but there are other people that make this stand out. Jeffrey Jones makes the whole movie twice as fun. He steals every scene he is in. Also funny is Brion James, as a consistently drunk truck driver that this on the dead body. I laughed pretty hard during the scene where he is clawing on the hood of a car while Perkins drives it, trying to shake him off. All in all, I suppose this could have been funnier, but it is still good for laughs and has a script that works well, tying up all subplots. And I found the final scene to be hilarious. Leaving me laughing is a good way to end a good movie. Zantara's score: 8 out of 10.

This is a very funny black comedy. Elizabeth Perkins is a delight. While the film panders to its audience--car crashes, rotten language, a bit of simulated sex--it is nonetheless original and humorous. It's a solid three out of four stars.