The Taiwanese movie, Marry My Dead Body is undoubtedly a “tighten your seat belts” moment experience movie. It takes the breath away of the modern audience. Surfacing as a comedy to stepping as action and mysterious, it is a testament to a social message for the LGBTQ community.
Based on an actual Chinese ritual of “ghost marriage,” wherein a living human weds a deceased human, it spreads awareness among the people.
This goofy, emotional, and electrifying movie, directed by Cheng Wei-hao, was rolled out on Netflix on Aug 10, 2023. It earned a box office revenue of 11.5 million USD and took the spot for one of the top Mandarin movies in the first part of the year.
· Genre: Comedy, Action, Drama
· Director: Wei-hao Cheng
· Language: Mandarin and Chinese
· Release Date (Streaming on Netflix): Aug 10, 2023
· Release Date in theatres: Feb 10, 2023
· Cast: Tsai Chen-nan, Wang Man-Chiao, Cheng Chih-wei, Greg Hsu, Gingle Wang, Ma Nien-hsien, Tuo Tsung-hua, Chen Yen-tso, Austin Lin, Cliff Cho, Kurt Hsiao, Chang Zhang-xing, Liu Kuan-ting, Aaron Yan
· Music: Kay Liu
· Producer: Dennis Wu, Jin Bai-lun
· Duration: 2h 10m
· Production Co: QC Media
The True Chinese Tradition-Based Action Comedy Marry My Dead Body Movie That Will Keep You Hooked Till the End
A terrific scene of a dog howling on the street and an older woman trimming a lock of fingernails and hair from a corpse and putting it in a red envelope keeps the audience biting their nails what will happen next?
It jumps to a workout facility wherein gay men burn calories while lifting weights and fooling around in the locker room. Now, comes into limelight our main hero, Ming-han(Greg Hsu).
His entry is so hot and irresistible, doing tricep dips and winking at another gymgoer to seduce him. Being a smart cop, this was his trick to arrest him for having illegal drugs.
Further, when Tzu-ching -(Ming-han’s co-partner) and Ming-Han are chasing a drug dealer A-kou, Ming-Han gets stuck in the car. Tzu-ching catches the criminal swiftly running behind the car. A spooky turn comes when Ming-han mistakenly picks up the red envelope, considering it part of the leftover evidence.
Little did Ming-han know it was a set-up. A grandmother trapped him in a ghost marriage for her dead gay grandson- Mao Mao (Austin Lin). When Ming-han denies all the utter nonsense of ghost marriage, he unknowingly invites trouble.
Cast & Performances: Who Takes Center Stage?
Marry My Dead Body movie’s success owes to Austin Lin and Greg Hsu (Mao Mao and Ming-Han).
Ming-Han is the embodiment of misogynistic and homophobic. When he confronts Mao Mao, the tables turn.
Mao Mao, in a red shirt, khaki pants, and wavy hair, is a gaudy, happy, and innocent character. His pending wishes are to assure his boyfriend not to be gloomy. The other wish is to be acceptable as gay in his father’s eyes. But, later, he discovers that was not why his father denied his and his boyfriend’s marriage.
It is amusing how Ming-Han was Mao Mao’s dog in a past life and has a special connection in the present. When Mao Mao possesses Ming-Han, it is one of the epic and hilarious scenes of the movie.
Ming-Han has no option left to deal with this hellish life but to fulfill Mao Mao’s wishes so that he can reincarnate. Thus, the cop is now on his duty to know who killed Mao Mao in a hit-and-run.
Mao Mao’s journey was not a piece of cakewalk. He is willing to reincarnate and tries to figure out what memories keep him bound with this world. Besides the shallow desires, his simple wish was for someone to simultaneously be his friend and lover.
Even though he did not open his feelings when alive, Ming-Han acts as his mirror of communication for Mao-Mao’s boyfriend and father.
With their ups and downs, they both grow to look after each other platonically. Ming-Han has an astonishing growth – turning from pompous to calm. Further, tears will roll down your cheeks when you see how strong the bond is between Ming-Han and Mao-Mao.
Mao Mao’s impact on Ming-Han resulted in Mao Mao’s father. He opened up his feelings for his son, which he locked up in his heart cage.
Apart from that, love should not be bound between only romantic partners. Mao Mao and Ming-Han weren’t lovers; their bond was more platonic. A friendship ropes the understanding between them.
Music That Booms The Afterlife And Alive
Music star Jolin Tsai is musically featured. One of her songs, “Untitled” (親愛的對象), which decodes to Dearest Partner, is quite a hit. Regarding platonic and romantic partners, it is a perfect reminder that love appears in every size and shape.
Love does not sunset at romance. In the end, in Marry My Dead Body movie, Ming-Han, and Mao Mao are the “best friends match made in heaven.”
Although the magnetic chemistry between the two guys leads, Marry My Dead Body lets down by its weak implementation of CGI. Could the movie be on a clearer path if cutting a storyline? Maybe.
The movie has many drug busts, murder mysteries, and more. It is a bit stretched as it focuses on many aspects.
Direction & Cinematography: A Visual Bliss
Director Cheng Wei-hao diverts from his horror genre and sprays some sassy humor in this treat with serious social points kept for Taiwan’s LGBTQ community.
It resembles the societal growth in Taiwan that obtained its rom-com revolution. In 2019, Taiwan got the legalized homosexual marriage right but Marry My Dead Body movie is the celebration we all wanted!
What Movies Does It Strike A Chord With?
Over Her Dead Body, in which a ghost tries to disrupt her former boyfriend’s existing bond with a psychic.
The Final Takeaway: Should You Say ‘I Must Watch’ to this Movie?
Watch The Trailer:
Marry My Dead Body is a hilarious, emotional twist to a tradition that keeps the audience in awe at the end. Undermining the gendered expectations linked with ghost marriage, the pure bond between Ming-Han and Mao Mao stresses what platonic partners should be without any beat of romance. However, it matters how much you adore your partner in life and poles apart in death.
