Marry My Dead Body (2022)

Unbelieveable!「不敢相信!」

A sincere-introspective-queer-supernatural-action-comedy movie sounds like a mishmash recipe for disaster. However, in director Cheng Wei Hao's deft hands, he is able to command these genres effortlessly. With no one genre overpowering the other, each transitioning into another seamlessly and blending beautifully. Thus, culminating into a film that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Wu Ming Han, Greg Hsu, is your typical homophobic chauvinistic CisHet male police officer who believes he is God's gift to mankind. After messing up a high speed chase with a member of a drug cartel, he is assigned the task of collecting all the debris from the car chase. He mistakenly picks up a red envelope, and a chill runs down his spine when he realizes it's an arrangement for a ghost marriage. To make matters worse his ghost spouse, Mao Bang Yu (Mao Mao), is a gay man.

Mao Mao, Austin Lin, was killed late one night in a hit and run incident. His loving and supportive Amah didn't want him to be lonely in the afterlife, hence creating the red envelope for him. After Wu Ming Han performs the marriage, Mao Mao reveals to his husband that he is unable to reincarnate until all his affairs from this life are settled. The driver from his hit and run incident was never apprehended, and he demands Wu Ming Han find the driver that killed him.

Well, what's a crime film with out its action sequences? "Marry My Dead Body" ticks off all the must haves: high speed car chase-check, stand off gun fight between police officers and the drug cartel-check, main character in a hand to hand fight sequence-check. But all these standard actions sequences have a bit of a cheeky twist, which are played for thrills as well as laughs.

Speaking of laughs, the humor of this film works on so many levels. Wu Ming Han is the straight man in both his sexuality and as well as being the comedic straight man. Forever the foil to all the shenanigans, but without him all the comedic elements would fall apart. Some of the best bits from the film are references to specific Taiwanese colloquialisms, culture, and queer culture. My personal favorite is a throw away joke when Wu Ming Han recites his badge number. The comedy in this film never talks downs to its audience by going for the easy joke.

Come for the comedy, but stay for a gut punch to the feels. Both leads go on a reluctant journey of self-reflection. Wu Ming Han to see others and a world beyond himself and Mao Mao must face the rift between him and his father. Both of their personal journeys come crashing to a head in the climactic scene between Wu Ming Han, Mao Mao, and Mao Mao's father. All three actors deliver exceptional performances, but Greg Hsu steals the spotlight with his masterful ability to swallow his sadness through forced smiles. The movie patron who sat next to me in the theater perfectly encapsulated the experience of watching this film with "I though this was a comedy..." in between heavy sobs.

Cheng Wei Hao cleverly weaves a poignant narrative of love and acceptance under the guise of a goofy odd couple trope. With an assist from two of Taiwan's rising stars, we are able to believe the growing and maturing friendship between the two leading characters. An excellent cast of supporting actors rounds out the ensemble, with Wang Man Chiao standing out as the Amah every queer person wishes was in their life. Wang Man Chiao exemplifies how beautifully ordinary it is to love your grandchild for who they are exactly as they are. By normalizing the acceptance of queer identities, this is the exact type of positive queer representation pop culture needs. "Marry My Dead Body" is the rare comedy that will make you laugh with tears in your eyes, and leaves a lasting impression as you leave the theater.

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an action-comedy at first glance - but a lot more!

To be honest, I was waiting to watch this movie since I saw the very first trailer, so my expectations for this one were really high. And I am not dissappointed!

First of all, if you go into this movie expecting a love story, you will probably be dissappointed but still, I recommend giving this movie a try.

I expected to see a action-comedy with supernatural elements, without any deep meaning behind it ("just a good laugh") but this movie offers way more than that. All the different pieces of this movie are nicely put together, nothing feels out of place. The story focuses more on the relationships between the characters (not only the main characters) than it does on the action - still, the action scenes are done great! Additionally, there are twists in the story, making it unpredictable and never leaving the viewer bored. The pace of the story is perfect, making the ~2 hours a good frame to tell the whole story without feeling like pieces were left behind in the end. Also, the ending, in my opinion, is a perfect ending to such an unique story.

All the actors do a great job portraying their characters. The unique personalities of the characters are portrayed nicely and seem realistic, as well as their own character development throughout the story. Especially the main characters are lovable in their own way. Their relationship throughout the movie feels genuine and realistic.

Talking about the OST, I was already in love with "Come with me" (the soundtrack in the trailer) before I was able to watch the movie, so obviously I am giving the OST a high rating. At the same time, the other songs in this movie feel just as nice, which made me add every single one to my personal music library! The music is used nicely throughout the movie without feeling annoying or out of place.

Overall, this is a nice movie which offers a lot more than I expected and a movie that I will most likely rewatch a few (=many) times. Therefore, I recommend that you should give this movie a try, it's totally worth it!

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You Will Laugh And You Will Cry!

A surprising, hilarious, and touching film about a straight police officer (Wu Ming Han) who gets married to a gay ghost (Mao Mao). The circumstances around his why Ming Han agrees to marry the ghost will make you laugh, and the grandma's adoration and support of her dead grandson (going so far as to arrange his marriage after death) are moving, even while bizarre.

Their marriage becomes the set up for an overarching plot point: solving the mystery of Mao Mao's death. And as the mystery is solved, you will be surprised. Talk about plot twist!

While Ming Han brings Mao Mao justice and needed closure to a certain conflict in his life, Mao Mao brings to Ming Han the love of his grandma and father. At the end of the movie, there's genuine love and affection between them, and Ming Han remains committed to remembering Mao Mao, even keeping his memorial alter in his home. It's clear that Ming Han accepts Mao Mao as his husband.

The film challenges us to stretch our imaginations about what a marriage can be and what loyalty to a partner can be. At the end, Ming Han demonstrates a kind of commitment to his husband that, even if not romantic or sexual, is no less true.

A little detail not to miss in the closing scene: Ming Han picking up his portable tumbler with a rainbow heart sticker front and center on it!

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got better as it went on

There are some solid reviews on the movie so I'll just add a few thoughts.

Overall: this got better and better as it went on with an ending that was extremely well done. In the beginning, I really struggled with the homophobic, self centered, jerk protagonist. But he actually has character growth which was great. I need a sequel to this movie. Somehow he gets reincarnated as an adult and they solve another mystery together (and also showing explicit romantic feelings would be a bonus)

BL? Bromance? I think they definitely loved each other, whether that was platonically or romantically is not clearly defined, I think it can be a bit up to the viewer's interpretation.

Content Warnings: death, grief, manipulation, violence, held against will

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Bad start but get's better

Sometimes you will see a cover and instantly know that this is just not for you.... but then you may look a bit closer and find out that Greg Hsu is the star and all of a sudden you just have to watch it for that smile.... But deep down inside you know that Greg is probably the only thing this movie has to offer.

And well it started off just like it´s cover suggested, annoyingly bad silly humour... Greg Hsu as a homophobic over the top jerk (with muscles) slightly painful to watch second hand embarrassment making me rethink my choice to watch it, but since Greg Hsu is the star and they trowed in a bunch of open minded granny's I stuck to it and it actually got better. Showing me yet again the Greg is a versatile actor (having like 10 personalities in this) and more then just a pretty face. The other male lead did a really good job too. Some twists where more predictable than others, actually most of them where predictable. the character development was however lovely and I think I may almost have shed a tear.

So I am not going to say this is great, but if you are a Fan of Greg Hsu or ghosts, this is not a bad place to watch them just don´t judge the movie by its cover or first 30 minutes or so. It does indeed get better. But honestly it is probably worth a 6,5 or a 7 but the cast and moments of brilliance (few as they are), as well as the presence of a cute dog truly adds a whole lot of stars.

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nikah sama hantu gay??

⭐8/10

filmnya lucuuu. komedinya dapet. dan premisnya menarik. kalo diliat2 fokusnya cuma ngejar mafia narkoba doang yang kebetulan jd pembunuh mao bang yu. habis mafianya mati, udah beres. kita gatau kabar penghianatnya gimana dan gimana sama klnjutan karir wu ming han, tp meski konfliknya itu doang, gw salut sama pesan moralnya sih..

bagian action dari film ini juga ga begitu buruk. dan kerjasama suami-suami (wu ming han - mao bang yu) ini juga kompak dan kocak.

unsur lgbt+ nya jg cuma jd latar belakang yg ga trlalu byk dibahas dan kayanya ga akan terlalu mengganggu buat ditonton homofobik karena pada dasarnya wu ming han kliatan agak homofobik jg.

gw suka bgian mao bang yu yg sngat cinta alam dan cinta hewan sampai ngasih positive vibes ke wu ming han untuk ikut berdonasi. character development nya juga berasa bgt terutama untuk bapaknya mao bang yu dan wu ming han. akhir filmnya ditutup dengan kedamaian bagi semua and i love it.

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Totally not what i expected

I watch this because people talk about this a lot. I know nothing about this movie but "Straight police and gay ghost." Just like other people, i was intrigued by that. I don't watch the trailer, I don't even know the genre, but i read about people saying to prepare for some tears. So I'm expecting some heartwrenching LGBTQ+ movie like YNEH.

This movie totally not what i expected. Comedy+Horror+Action. What a combo!

For the comedy, they nailed it! It's so darn funny!! I swear the english subtitle ain't do the movie any justice if you know the language trust me it'd be more funnier LOL!

I didn't expect they'd use lots CGI for this movie, like the gunshots, the truck, etc. Not that good but for a movie whose genre not even action?? They totally got a hell of budget ((not complaining)).

Also, I like how the movie flowing, the pace is perfect. The comedy is sooooo good lmao like I'm laughing so hard that i forgot about 'prepare for some tears' part. It's too funny that I can't take the movie seriously, and when it gets to the serious part i was totally stunned.

I thought the story would lean towards the love between them, between the Police and the Ghost, but they showed us more. The unconditionally love from a parent. The story is so GOOD, so good that i can go from laughing to crying real fast. And the ending— I can't describe it, I can't even watch the movie clearly bcs of my tears.

The tears so good it gives me headache lol.

Also let's talk about the acting??? BRUH THEY ALL KILLED IT. The ambulance scene where Ming Han about to passed out, the captain said "who are you talking to??" And Ming Han said "My...Husband.." and then passed out. Hate me as much as you want, but that scene for me is equal to Tom Holland's "I don't wanna go" scene! It's so good that you'll moved to tears!

Wriing this while wiping the tears i shed on the chair. Totally recommended!

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The only memorable thing in this movie is Greg Hsu - but unfortunately that's it!

A simple short review for those who make the mistake to have high expectations about this movie. Keep calm and lower your standards, then maybe you are able to enjoy this more.

Yes, it's a high quality production. Yes, we got some nice views on Greg Hsus hot Body, but overall this was just a below average written plot with boring dialogues. The humor itself is very special, i don't say peculiar, because i like peculiar and unique unusualness. Special in regards of the distinctive style of over exaggerated acting and be very clichéed and somehow lustful in a plump way.

The one thing i really liked was the funny CGI of the car scenes. It looked liked high quality hotwheel-like car racing scenes in a cartoonish way. Unfortunately nothing extraordinary, thou the acting was pretty decent.

Plot and Character Development were unsatisfying in lacking depth and originality. If you need some shallow entertainment and can enjoy laughing about dumb slapstick - this may work for an evening. But despite Greg's pretty pictures not much is worth remembering.

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One of the best GAY movies ever made!

I could write a book about the beauty of this movie. There is so much to unpack in what initially seems like a throw-away film that was originally released in 2022. Marketed as a comedy, it is indeed funny. Its premise is rather unorthodox for us who live in the West. We do not fully understand or grasp different religious beliefs or cultures especially centering around a deep connection to individuals who are deceased. But that does not take away from its impact. If anything, it adds to it. As stated, this is billed as a comedy, but its ending is so sad. Deeply sad. Full of regrets but with an opportunity to redeem those regrets. Perhaps that is its lasting message that we should be overcome with. Life is so fragile. Regrets are plentiful with perhaps the opportunities to redeem those regrets coming along so infrequently. Maybe it is best not to waste them.
This is an astonishingly impactful movie that will make you laugh, cry, and allow you to ponder and take pause. The timing of its humor is seamless. The acting is impeccable. The story is inspirational as well as being a tear-jerker. In other words, it is memorable. To read my full review of this awesome film, go to BLBliss.com.

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