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Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria Parker takes a break from Wisteria Lane to appear in Over Her Dead Body, a desperately unfunny farce that doesn't need an audience so much as an exorcist. He'd certainly have his hands full with her character, a bitchy ghost killed on her wedding day determined to stop ex-fiancé Paul Rudd falling in love again. The more catty, obnoxious and irritating she behaves, though, the more you realise how lucky he is to be shot of her.

Not half as fortunate as the Noel Coward estate, though, who'd have a decent case should they choose to sue writer-helmer Jeff Lowell for his blatant pilfering from Coward classic Blithe Spirit. Hell, it even has its own Madame Arcati in Ashley (Lake Bell), a wannabe psychic who, having been hired by Rudd to contact his late intended, ends up developing a crush on him herself. Will they find happiness together? Not if Eva has anything to do with it, her spook doing all she can from beyond the grave to break up the happy couple.

"FUNNY AS A FUNERAL"

Since Ashley is the only one who can see and hear her, her sabotage is limited to making fart noises, playing pranks on her in the shower and singing (badly) while she and Rudd are having sex. The result, needless to say, is as funny as a funeral, which explains why Jason Biggs mugs so frantically as Bell's ostensibly gay best friend. Without a pie, alas, there's only so much he can do.

Over Her Dead Body is out in the UK on 1st February 2008.