BEFORE: One romance film down, about 40 to go. I say "about" because I still have to go through my list of films newly available on streaming platforms, and you never know, I might find a new romance film that wasn't available until now, and if so, I might be able to work it into the chain at the last minute. That's what happened with tonight's film, initially I was going to to straight from "Boys and Girls" to "Loser" as both films have Jason Biggs, but then this one came to my attention, and I realized it could be dropped in-between. So Jason Biggs carries over tonight, and then "Loser" will follow in two days, because there's ANOTHER film tomorrow that got dropped in at the last minute, also.
I can't do that too many times, because there are 44 days until St. Patrick's Day, and I think I've only got 2 empty slots between here and there - plus I need 3 or 4 days to get from the end of the romance chain to something very Irish. Still, that's two empty slots I could fill, or I could take a little break, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
FOLLOW-UP TO: "Just Like Heaven" (Movie #3,463)
THE PLOT: A ghost tries to sabotage her former boyfriend's current relationship with a psychic.
AFTER: I know, I know, at first glance this seems to be a very stupid film, about a man's dead wife's ghost interfering in his new relationship - and it is, really. But then you take a second look at it and you realize - well, OK, you probably also determine it's a silly stupid film. But on your THIRD look at it, you might see there's something kind of clever among all the nonsense. Sure, ghosts aren't real, and I know ghosts aren't real because when Harry Houdini died, he promised that if there were ANY sort of afterlife, any way for him to send a coherent message back to his loved ones from the Great Beyond, he would find it. And he was a very clever, very tricky man, so if he couldn't get a message back from Heaven, then there is nothing after this life and also ghosts aren't real. Yet the majority of people on this planet believe in something beyond this plane, whether that's heaven or hell or limbo or God's waiting room is TBD, but in the meantime, sure, why not ghosts? They also have a very popular sitcom on CBS.
But think about this, if this were a film about an alive woman medding in her ex's new relationship, we would hate that character, because her actions are petty and spiteful and foolish, not to mention a waste of time - the relationship is over, you both move on and maybe try a little harder to make the next one work. Or maybe you spend some time apart and realize how much your lives suck without the other person in it, and you get back together and try to make the best of it. But usually you both just move on and try to get over each other.
Ah, but the ex here is DEAD, she's a ghost who finds herself unable to move on to the next spiritual plane, because her goals in life were not met, there's some unfinished business, some task she needs to perform. She doesn't get the full briefing from the angel she meets in the white limbo Purgatory room, because she spent her time complaining about not being dead, misunderstanding the situation, and wondering why the angel doesn't appear to have wings - which is ironic because that's kind of how she died in the first place, arguing with the ice sculptor over why the angel ice statue he made didn't have wings. Still, she's somewhat sympathetic because she never got to fulfill her dream of getting married and also continuing to be alive.
This film may have set the record for the earliest death of a main character, I'd have to check on that, but I'm not sure how to Google it. Trying to think of other movies where a character died in the first few minutes of a film, but I'm only coming up with "Dressed to Kill" and then of course Drew Barrymore in the first "Scream" film, and other actresses in the opening scenes of the "Scream" sequels. Jesus, at least Patrick Swayze's character in "Ghost" got to take a pottery class before he died. I guess you can count "Sunset Boulevard" where we see the main character floating in the pool at the start, but then the movie flashes back to tell us how he died, so does that really count? They just moved the end scene of the movie to the beginning, really. Ah, here we go, I'll Google "Movies that Begin with the Main Character Dying" - OK, "Lawrence of Arabia", "The Killers", "The Lovely Bones", "Watchmen", "The Crow", "Citizen Kane" and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever". OK, that turned out to be a bit easier than I thought it would be. Also, SPOILER ALERT for "Citizen Kane". The Comedian's not really the main character in "Watchmen", though, it's more of an ensemble piece, but yeah, OK, Black Panther 2.
There are, however, inconsistencies all over this film about whether Ashley really has psychic abilities. At first Henry's sister brings him to a psychic and everyone (but Henry) knows that Ashley really has no psychic powers, but his sister has slipped the psychic some information that only Kate would have known, it's all with good intentions to give Henry a message from his dead ex-almost-wife that it's time for him to move on and start dating again. But then Kate's ghostly form appears on the scene and only one character can see her, and it's Ashley the psychic! Now, does Ashley suddenly REALLY have psychic ability, or does Kate the ghost WANT to be seen by her? Neither one really makes sense, because Kate can't quite figure out how her ghost powers work, not at first, anyway, so how would she suddenly have the ability to be seen by a person of her choosing?
Kate first appears to Ashley as a prospective new client who wants a reading - so that means Ashley can't distinguish between a real live human and a dead ghost trying to appear to be a real live human. So Ashley DOES NOT have psychic powers, which one presumes would include being able to tell a live person from a spirit. But yet she DOES have psychic powers, because she is having a conversation with a ghost that nobody else can see. This is quite a paradox, she both does and does not have psychic ability, or the powers she has are very specific, there's a very narrow range of what she can and can't do. Yeah, basically her psychic powers are whatever the screenwriter needed them to be.
But don't you think that if Ashley, a complete stranger to Kate, can see her then wouldn't Henry, her boyfriend of several years and almost-husband be able to see her too? I mean, they already had a mental, physically and perhaps spiritual connection already, isn't that what love is, at the heart of the concept? Or does love not really exist except as a social construct and an abstract representation of our dreams and wishes projected on to another person? Discuss. NO, screw it, let's assume that love is REAL, just intangible because Henry loved Kate while she was alive and forgave her for acting like a Bridezilla, come on, she just wanted things to be perfect at her wedding, because you maybe only get one of those. Or in Kate's case, almost one.
You can probably guess where all this is going, Ashley and Henry start to like each other during the phony (and then later real) psychic sessions. They usually go out to grab a bite together after, and then they start thinking of other places they like to go together, things to do together, one thing leads to another, and then before long they're dating. Kate, however, is VERY opposed to this, and decides to use her newfound ghost powers to make Ashley's life a living hell. Instead of saying "BOOO" like a normal ghost or rattling objects or moving things around the room, Kate learns to make a lot of fart sounds when Ashley and Henry check in to a hotel together. Yeah, that's a classy ghost. Kate also makes a fake P.A. announcement about a gas leak while Ashley's showering at the gym so she decides to run out of the locker room while still naked. More inventive, but still very petty.
So Ashley pretends to be very very sick, in order to keep Henry away so that a ghost will no longer be mad at her. Temporary solution, because she can't just stay indoors forever and Henry's going to keep calling, no matter what. The only way to solve this little love triangle with one dead corner is for Kate to (eventually) realize that she's not still on Earth to keep Henry from dating someone else, she's there to help him transition toward dating someone else. Right, only through sacrifice and thinking of others can one cleanse their own soul, and therefore be worthy of a place in heaven. Gad, it's corny but it is really the only way out of the corner that some poor writer painted themselves into. But it's a darn shame that in the end, the ghost has to resort to talking through a PARROT to get the other two characters together. Really, couldn't there have been some other way, any other way? It's a big NITPICK POINT because this isn't the way parrots work, they have to hear a phrase hundreds of times before they can mimic it, what you see on display here is really some kind of advanced savant parrot.
And Jason Biggs really gets the short end of the stick, playing the fourth corner in the love triangle, namely someone who's not even considered part of the geometric equation at all. Then his reveal late in the picture makes it very, very difficult to like his character, and that's all I have to say about that.
Look, I have a feeling that if this sort of film keeps appearing in the countdown, it's going to feel like a VERY long February. Even though it's the shortest month, my romance chains usually tend to be longer than 28 or 29 days, if the topic didn't bleed into February then I really would never make any progress from year to year. This year I'm scheduled to stay on this topic until March 11 or thereabouts, but thankfully they don't ALL have to be rom-coms, I'm hoping a romantic tragedy could turn up, or even a romantic thriller or romantic action movie. Could happen.
I'll get back to Jason Biggs in 2 days, I'll get back to Lake Bell in about 30 days, and back to Stephen Root a few days after that. Instead I'll follow the Paul Rudd link to the next romance movie.
Also starring Eva Longoria (last seen in "Unplugging"), Paul Rudd (last seen in "Ghostbusters: Afterlife"), Lake Bell (last seen in "No Escape"), Lindsay Sloane (last seen in "Endings, Beginnings"), Stephen Root (last seen in "Three Christs"), WIlliam Morgan Sheppard (last seen in "Lassiter"), Wendi McLendon-Covey (last seen in "Blended"), Ali Hills (last seen in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"), Deborah Theaker (last seen in "A Series of Unfortunate Events"), Natalia Safran (last seen in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"), Andy Kreiss (last seen in "Mr. Deeds"), Ben Livingston (last seen in "Framing John DeLorean"), Jack Conley (last seen in "The Purge: Anarchy"), Kali Rocha (last seen in "The Object of My Affection"), Colin Fickes (last seen in "The Rage: Carrie 2"), Armen Weitzman (last seen in "A Futile and Stupid Gesture"), Bru Muller, Richard Tillman (last seen in "Superhero Movie"), Freddy Andreiuci, Brooke Bloom (last seen in "White Noise"), Edith Fields (last seen in "The Bachelor"), Heather Mazur (last seen in "I'm Not Here"), Misha Collins, Patricia Belcher (last seen in "Species"), Sam Pancake (last seen in "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!"), Antonio D. Charity and the voice of Jeff Lowell.
RATING: 5 out of 10 dates with "cat ladies"
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