Have romantic comedies so run out of ideas that they have to cherrypick other genres for new material? Hauntings and exorcisms aren’t usually the stuff of romantic comedies, but that is exactly what you get in the ridiculously flawed yet funny, Over Her Dead Body.

A year after his fiancee Kate (Eva Longoria Parker) was killed on their wedding day, emotionally dormant Henry (Paul Rudd) reluctantly agrees to his sister Chloe’s (Lindsay Sloane) advice that he pay a visit to a psychic named Ashley (Lake Bell). Unbeknownst to him, Chloe has convinced Ashley to read Kate’s diary in order to pretend to speak to Kate from the beyond and provide Henry with some sort of closure.

Despite being skeptical of Ashley’s clairvoyant abilities, Henry finds himself falling in love with her and she with him. But pretty soon Ashley doesn’t need the diary to convince Henry that she can communicate with the dead, because Kate returns as a ghost to haunt Ashley and break up her fledgling romance with Henry.

There is no denying that Rudd’s star is deservedly on the rise. The co-star of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and more recently, Knocked Up, has ingratiated himself to audiences through writer/director Judd Apatow’s hilarious and heartfelt scripts.

But when not attached to an Apatow project, Rudd’s career choices have been less than shrewd. His pairing with Michele Pfeiffer in I Could Never Be Your Woman was considered so lackluster that a theatrical run of the film was being dropped in favor of a straight-to-DVD release next month. (Having seen the film, I applaud the studio on a wise decision).

With Over Her Dead Body, Rudd embarks on yet another foray into the romantic comedy, this time with funnier but similarly brain-dead results. Rudd’s success may be coming at the expense of his reputation.

Parker, the star of “Desperate Housewives” as the scheming and narcissistic Gabrielle Solis, pretty much plays the same character here as she does on TV. In fact, before her untimely death just minutes into the film, Parker’s Kate comes off as nothing more than a self-absorbed irritant, prompting one to wonder what the charming and laid-back Henry ever saw in her in the first place.

All the easier to join Henry in falling for newcomer Bell, who plays ditzy with the proper amount of endearing allure. Jason Biggs of American Pie also manages to stand out as Ashley’s clumsy, gay assistant.

Over Her Dead Body has several laugh-out-loud moments, though none are particularly intelligent or elegant. Still, this inoffensive Ghost meets Beetlejuice hybrid is almost certain to be better than anything else being offered up this weekend. The Eye and Strange Wilderness are both opening without the benefit of advanced critical screenings, and you know what that means.

© Copyright 2008 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.