Enid Is Sleeping

Plot synopsis:
Kate and Henry are a happy couple. Henry proposed to Kate and they are about to be married, but on the day of their wedding, Kate is accidentally killed by an ice sculpture angel, because of the actions of an ice sculptor (Stephen Root). Unaware that she has died and her soul left her body, Kate awakens in Purgatory, and wastes precious time arguing with an angel who finally leaves before she can explain to Kate what she must do to move on.
A year later, Henry's sister Chloe (Lindsay Sloane) hopes that he will find closure by consulting Ashley (Lake Bell), a psychic who also runs a catering business with her gay best friend Dan (Jason Biggs). After an unsuccessful first meeting, Chloe gives Kate's diary to Ashley so that she can pretend to communicate with Kate and convince Henry to move on with his life. In the process, Henry and Ashley fall for each other... much to the consternation of Kate, who has been watching over Henry. When Kate voices her displeasure, Ashley hears her, unaware of what it means.
Angry over Ashley's deception and uncertain of what she's supposed to do, Kate later encounters the ice sculptor, and discovers that he is also a ghost (a result of a drunk driving accident). He explains to her that they must deal with their unfinished business. Believing that her job is to protect Henry, Kate proceeds to harass Ashley (who is the only one who can see or hear Kate). Using her ghostly abilities of intangibility, levitation, and auditory hallucination, Kate hopes to force Ashley to break up with Henry. Ashley persists, but then Henry discovers the fraud with the diary and breaks off the relationship. Despondent over the break-up, Ashley turns to Dan for solace, but is further distraught when Dan reveals that he's not gay and has secretly been in love with her for years. Over time, Ashley and Dan eventually reconcile.
After several months of watching Henry fall back into a depressed funk, Kate encounters the sculptor once more, who points out that if she had resolved her unfinished business, she would have moved on to Heaven by now. When the sculptor asks her what she really wants, Kate reluctantly admits that she only wants Henry to be happy... and realizes that he could be happy with Ashley. Then the sculptor reveals that Kate was his unfinished business and he had to get her to do the right thing before moving on, which he does. Kate first attempts to convince Ashley to get back together with Henry but Ashley doesn't believe her change of heart, and is preparing to fly to Las Vegas with Dan. In desperation, Kate finds she is able to talk to Henry through his pet parrot and gets him to meet Ashley at the airport. Realizing that Henry has forgiven her and that she has Kate's blessing, Ashley joyfully embraces with Henry. At their wedding, Ashley delays her walk down the aisle to sit briefly in the back pew, to promise Kate that she will strive to make Henry happy. Also at the wedding, Dan makes a new connection with Chloe. Now ready to move on, Kate arrives once more in Purgatory, congratulated for her efforts by the angel and requests the "orb of true light" collected from Kate's loved ones. The angel leaves once again, leaving Kate in Purgatory.

Tags: cult, comedy

Review:
Great Cast + Great Script = Great Comedy!.
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..
A Must Watch Again if rated Less Than a 7-10.
This is one of my All Time Favorites!
Elizabeth Perkins is at top of her comedic game and Rita Perlman was great fit on dispatcher.
The older sister completed the circle of laughter and is always guaranteed to make one laugh out loud!!
Anyone rating this flick less than a 7-10 may reflect stress (excessive) and distraction in your life?!
By all means, one would need to relax & watch after exercising, running, or of course, a glass of wine or your favorite relaxation aid and enjoy the film ...
for the first time (again!)!!
Judge Reinhold is hilarious as his character comes to life without having to (or appearing to; smile) act out the character.
Reinhold's over-zealous action seeking sidekick and partner on the force, is non other than the principal from Ferris Beulers Day Off fame.
I've bought the DVD & also have it on the Laser Disc.
It's a movie worth watching (& re-rating) as if the first attempt didn't yield a 7+ rating the 2nd time will!
The comic genius of the characters, background music and perfect type-cast of Perkins and Reinhold makes this film, well, a Comedic Gem in which the Good, The Bad, and The Ugly accidents in life ...and the decisions to fix or clean them up don't always go according to plan!.
Weekend at Bernadette's.
This is sort of a distaff "Weekend at Bernie's", only it's set in small-town New Mexico and there are cops instead of crooks.
It ends up being darker and drier.
"Bernie's" may be wackier, but this film is funnier in the long run, I think.Elizabeth Perkins is a platinum blonde this time out, and looks even cuter than she usually does.
She's a winning comedienne and is well teamed with Judge Reinhold and Jeffrey Jones.
They could have been Lamour, Hope and Crosby starring in "The Road to Roswell" but thankfully that's a bit of New Mexico we don't get to see for a change.Once upon a time, the inconvenience of a dead body was considered a topic worthy of the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, in one of his rare comedies, "The Trouble With Harry" ("Is He's Dead"), and more recently it has been a lesser plot point for the National Lampoon in the original and still riotous "Vacation".Live comics stiff all the time, but dead ones are always good for a laugh..
Don't Miss This Dark Comedy!.
Apparently, it is impossible to buy a copy of this superb dark comedy, which is available for rent from some video stores under the title "Over Her Dead Body." This is a shame, because I am a devotee of dark comedies, and this is my all-time favorite, bar none.
The hi-jinks mix with pathos in a most rib-tickling way in this film.
Truly, if you don't laugh at loud at least a few times during this movie, you'd better check to see whether you, yourself, may be saddled with a dead body (your own)!.
Black comedy.
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..
Over her dead body!.
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.
A tiresome bore..
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!
An amusingly offbeat and deadpan black comedy treat.
Nasty shrew Enid (marvelously essayed with lip-smacking venomous aplomb by Maureen Mueller) catches her long-suffering police officer husband Harry (a sound performance by the always engaging Judge Reinhold) doing just what you think with her sweet, ditsy sister June (a terrific portrayal by Elizabeth Perkins).
June accidentally kills Enid in the ensuing fight.
Harry and June try to cover up the murder and dispose of Enid's body, which proves to be easier said than done.
Director/co-writer Maurice Phillips concocts a deliciously dry'n'deadpan black comedy riot that unfolds at a steady pace, offers a wealth of sidesplitting moments (June's loopy conversations with Enid's corpse are very funny and inspired), and boasts a handful of memorably eccentric secondary characters to keep things lively and enjoyable throughout.
The excellent cast has a ball with the wacky material: Reinhold sweats and frets with exquisite eye-rolling panache, Perkins is a screwball treat as she endures one dreadful mishap after another and barely manages to keep hysteria at bay, Jeffrey Jones almost steals the whole show as Harry's eager beaver partner Floyd, Brion James has an uproariously raucous field day as a loutish and disgusting drunken truck driver, plus there are nifty bits by Rhea Perlman as snippy dispatcher Mavis, Michael J.
Pollard as a flaky late-night motel manager, Charles Tyner as an ornery old coot, and Henry Jones as a doddery elderly gas station attendant.
The New Mexico setting adds extra regional flavor to the infectiously kooky proceedings.
Craig Safan's jaunty, twangy score likewise further enhances the quirkily macabre merriment.
Alfonso Beato's crisp cinematography gives the picture an attractive bright look.
A real hoot.