It’s pretty predictable what will happen when egotistical, homophobic cop Ming-han (Greg Hsu, 許光漢) is coerced into marrying the ghost of recently deceased gay man Mao Mao (Austin Lin, 林柏宏).
While retrieving evidence a drug dealer threw out the window during an over-the-top car chase, Ming-han accidentally picks up a red envelope planted by Mao Mao’s grandmother, who hopes to find her grandson a husband in the afterlife. Ming-han does not believe in this folk practice, but after a series of mishaps befalls him that same afternoon, he reluctantly agrees to the ghost wedding and becomes the only person who can see Mao Mao’s spirit.
Based on Lai Chih-liang’s (賴致良) script, which won Best Creative Story in 2018’s Let’s Be Wild (野草計畫) screenwriting contest, the film presents an intriguing concept as both ghost weddings and gay weddings are frowned upon in society.
Photo courtesy of Calendar Studios
Anyhow, forced to spend every waking minute together, Ming-han eventually changes his views, becomes a better person and saves the day.
Sure, it’s formulaic, mainstream stuff, albeit with a uniquely Taiwanese twist, but that doesn’t mean that Marry My Dead Body (關於我和鬼變成家人的那件事) isn’t entertaining. Having delivered blockbusters such as The Tag-Along (紅衣小女孩) and The Soul (魂), director Cheng Wei-hao (程偉豪) appears to have mastered the art of making solid, commercially successful supernatural thrillers. Now he adds comedy to his resume.
The chemistry between Ming-han and Mao Mao, who angrily call each other “damned gay” and “dumb straight guy” at first, is quite warm and builds naturally. They both harbor stereotypical beliefs about people of each other’s sexual orientation, and the scenes of their daily interaction and eventual mutual understanding, while cheesy at points, are hilarious and poignant.
Photo courtesy of Calendar Studios
There’s quite a lot going on in the film, which is mainly driven by Ming-han’s attempts to catch notorious drug dealer Brother Hsiao (Tsai Chen-nan, 蔡振南) and redeem his career, while trying to help Mao Mao fulfill his lingering wishes so he can leave this world without regrets. Mao Mao promises to use his spiritual powers to help Ming-han with his tasks, but his attempts often go unexpectedly awry. Of course, the recipe always calls for a twist or two to the mystery, and despite knowing so, it was still fun and effective.
Gingle Wang (王淨) plays Ming-han’s love interest and work partner Tzu-ching, who despite being a side character, pulls her weight and allows for further examination of gender stereotypes and expectations. She tries to prove herself as a competent cop and not just a pretty face for promotional and ceremonial purposes, but some coworkers still spread rumors that she slept her way to the top.
Chosen as the closer for last year’s Golden Horse Film Festival, Marry My Dead Body is more than just a silly action-comedy; it showcases various traditional and modern Taiwanese cultural phenomena and touches upon issues ranging from same-sex marriage to environmental awareness. The film’s commercial style allows for these topics to reach a larger audience in a non-preachy, light-hearted manner, as it garnered NT$47 million in box office sales in just its first three days in theaters.
For example, Mao Mao is an active proponent of bringing one’s own containers and bags to take out restaurants, and his first request to Ming-han is to “stop global warming.” His endearing grandmother (Wang Man-Chiao, 王滿嬌) is a vocal supporter of his sexual orientation, accompanying him to the pride parade, but his stern father (Tuo Tsung-hua, 庹宗華) cannot accept it.
These two characters are also portrayed well, and contribute to the depth of the movie. One of the film’s actors will probably win an award this year for their performance.
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