(L to R) Samara Weaving and Jason Segel in Jorma Taccone’s ‘Over Your Dead Body’. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
(L to R) Jason Segel and Samara Weaving in Jorma Taccone’s ‘Over Your Dead Body’. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
Marriages where the passion has long cooled have been a fertile source for bloody comedies in the past, including ‘The War of the Roses’ (remade recently as ‘The Roses’) into that genre steps ‘Over Your Dead Body’, which boasts the comic stylings of Jason Segel and the comedy/action chops of Samara Weaving. But does it deliver?
Script and Direction
‘Over Your Dead Body’ director Jorma Taccone.
Adapted from the Norwegian film ‘The Trip’ (which was co-written and directed by Tommy Wirkola), the new movie features a script from Nick Kocher (‘Pizza Movie’) and Brian McElhaney (‘Plus One’) that sets up the bad romance between Segel and Weaving’s characters before throwing all manner of comically violent twists in. It doesn’t always work, but when it hits, it hits hard.
Jorma Taccone, the Lonely Island co-founder, shows a knack for staging violent set pieces here, and keeps the movie feeling fun.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Juliette Lewis, Samara Weaving, and Timothy Olyphant in Jorma Taccone’s ‘Over Your Dead Body’. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
Segel and Weaving are excellent as the central pair, but kudos also to Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis and Keith Jardine, who all give committed, loopy performances.
Final Thoughts
Timothy Olyphant in Jorma Taccone’s ‘Over Your Dead Body’. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
If you watch one action comedy this year where Samara Weaving regrets her choices and fights for her life, make it ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’. But if you’ve room for two, then ‘Over Your Dead Body’ has plenty to offer.
‘Over Your Dead Body’ receives 69 out of 100.
(L to R) Jason Segel and Samara Weaving in Jorma Taccone’s ‘Over Your Dead Body’. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
What is the plot of ‘Over Your Dead Body’?
A couple (Jason Segel and Samara Weaving) tries to reconnect while on vacation, only to find out they have plans to kill each other.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Jorma Taccone about his work on ‘Over Your Dead Body’, remaking ‘The Trip’, shooting the action sequences, the music, and putting together the exceptional cast.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews.
(L to R) Jason Segel and Samara Weaving in Jorma Taccone’s ‘Over Your Dead Body’. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and the challenges of remaking ‘The Trip’?
Jorma Taccone: Well, this is based on a Norwegian movie called ‘The Trip’, originally called ‘In Bad Days’ by Tommy Wirkola, and it’s a very funny movie. Tommy did movies like ‘Violent Night’. I was really a big fan of all his stuff. He’s more of an action-comedy guy. I’m more of a comedy-action guy. So, there’s a Venn diagram there. The original movie is very dark. It’s angry but it’s very funny too. I was very interested in, one, what a different cast would bring to it. There are some pretty big changes that have happened with our bad guys. When I read the original script, I was really impressed that Nick (Kocher) and Brian (McElhaney), who are very funny writers, had captured the tone that I really wanted to present, which is the characters being a bit more redeemable and really trying to earn the ending of the movie. It’s a series of tricks that this movie is doing of threading all these different needles. It’s like three movies in one. It’s this suspense/thriller, into almost a home invasion, into an action movie and it just ramps. So, it was pushing the comedy, which is obviously my heart, not wanting to break anything and having the reality of the world. But really doing all those tones, having all these twists and turns, and having the comedy stitch it all together in this way that felt like such an awesome challenge. Showing different shades of things that maybe people don’t expect from me.
(L to R) Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, and Keith Jardine in Jorma Taccone’s ‘Over Your Dead Body’. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
MF: Can you talk about your approach to filming the action sequences?
JT: I mean, there’s a lot of cool set pieces in this movie. With the days that you have and the time that you have, it’s always challenging to get. A half a page of action lines can take a full day to shoot. So, it’s always like that. There’s a whole action set piece that goes all around the front yard and there’s brutal stuff that happens. There are maybe ten different gags that happen that are just really over the top violent and it’s so fun. It’s also funny and disturbing. So, that was a fun one to block and choreograph with 87North Productions, who are known for ‘Bullet Train’, ‘Atomic Blonde’, ‘John Wick’. So, I had the best stunt team on the planet. Then I’m also weaving all my dumb comedy into it as well. So, it was those moments that you’re just like, “This is so fun to have so many different things going on in one scene.”
Samara Weaving in Jorma Taccone’s ‘Over Your Dead Body’. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
MF: Can you talk about the music you used in the film?
JT: I’m obsessed with audio. There’s all these EDM songs that are in the movie that I got Karen Gillan to do. So, she did this song, and Samara Weaving does a song. But if there is chaos, there’s even more chaos with audio and there’s this crazy song happening. So, it was fun to build all that stuff up.
(L to R) Samara Weaving and Jason Segel in Jorma Taccone’s ‘Over Your Dead Body’. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
MF: Finally, what was it like putting this cast together and working with them on set?
JT: Well, one of the things I’ve been saying, which I think holds very true, is that my wife (director Marielle Heller) was saying that there’s a head of every department and there’s always a head of the acting department. Jason Siegel was absolutely that for me. He was the hub of the wheel that we first got. Then to get Samara who works so well with him, and she’s so funny in this movie. She’s playing an Australian too, which was great for her improv to just be able to go toe to toe with Jason. There’s so much fun between them. But then Timothy Olyphant, who was difficult to convince, but I did it. Then him and Juliette are so funny. Then, Keith Jardine, who is mostly known for MMA fighting, but he’s been in a ton of stuff. He’s the sweetest man on the planet and he’s so funny in this. Then, Paul Guilfoyle, who’s unbelievable as this dad character. So, I got incredibly lucky. But Jason was the start of that, of the ball rolling towards this incredible cast.
Editorial Note: Tessa Smith conducted the interview and contributed to this article.
Timothy Olyphant in Jorma Taccone’s ‘Over Your Dead Body’. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
What is the plot of ‘Over Your Dead Body’?
A couple (Jason Segel and Samara Weaving) tries to reconnect while on vacation, only to find out they have plans to kill each other.
The series has also spawned several popular movies based on sketches and characters from the show including ‘The Blues Brothers‘, ‘Wayne’s World‘ and ‘MacGruber‘.
In honor of ‘SNL’s 50th anniversary season, Moviefone is counting down and ranking every ‘Saturday Night Live’ movie ever made.
For this list, we are only including movies based on sketches or characters that originated on ‘SNL’, so we will not be including ‘Tommy Boy‘, ‘Black Sheep‘, or any of Adam Sandler’s early films. We will also not be including director Jason Reitman‘s recent biopic ‘Saturday Night‘.
Julia Sweeney in ‘It’s Pat’. Photo: Touchstone Pictures.
Pat Riley (Julia Sweeney), an obnoxious busybody of indeterminable sex, meets and falls in love with Chris, a sensitive, caring person also of indeterminable sex. Their relationship suffers because Pat’s a lout, and cannot decide on a direction for their life. Meanwhile, Pat’s neighbor Kyle falls further and further into obsession with Pat, fascinated by their indeterminate sexuality.
(L to R) Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman in ‘Blues Brothers 2000’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Finally released from prison, Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) is once again enlisted by Sister Mary Stigmata in her latest crusade to raise funds for a children’s hospital. Hitting the road to re-unite the band and win the big prize at the New Orleans Battle of the Bands, Elwood is pursued cross-country by the cops.
Tim Meadows in ‘The Ladies Man’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Because of his salacious language, late-night radio advice-show host Leon Phelps (Tim Meadows), along with his sweet and loyal producer Julie (Karyn Parsons), is fired from his Chicago gig. Leon gets a letter from a former lover promising a life of wealth, but he doesn’t know who she is. Can Leon find his secret sugar-mama? What about Julie?
(L to R) Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell in ‘A Night at the Roxbury’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Despite being well into adulthood, brothers Doug (Chris Kattan) and Steve Butabi (Will Ferrell) still live at home and work in the flower shop owned by their dad. They exist only to hit on women at discos, though they’re routinely unsuccessful until a chance run-in with Richard Grieco gets them inside the swank Roxbury club. Mistaken for high rollers, they meet their dream women, Vivica (Gigi Rice) and Cambi (Elisa Donovan), and resolve to open a club of their own.
Molly Shannon in ‘Superstar’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Orphan Mary Katherine Gallagher (Molly Shannon), an ugly duckling at St. Monica High School, has a dream: to be kissed soulfully. She decides she can realize this dream if she becomes a superstar, so her prayers, her fantasies and her conversations with her only friend focus on achieving super-stardom.
(L to R) Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin in ‘Coneheads’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
A pair of aliens arrive on Earth to prepare for invasion, but crash instead. With enormous cone-shaped heads, robotlike walks and an appetite for toilet paper, aliens Beldar (Dan Aykroyd) and Prymatt (Jane Curtain) don’t exactly blend in with the population of Paramus, N.J. But for some reason, everyone believes them when they say they’re from France.
(L to R) Mike Myers and Dana Carvey in ‘Wayne’s World 2’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
A message from Jim Morrison in a dream prompts cable access TV stars Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) to put on a rock concert, “Waynestock,” with Aerosmith as headliners. But amid the preparations, Wayne frets that a record producer (Christopher Walken) is putting the moves on his girlfriend, Cassandra (Tia Carrere), while Garth handles the advances of mega-babe Honey Hornee (Kim Basinger).
Will Forte in ‘MacGruber’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
After rotting in prison for over a decade, America’s ultimate hero and uber patriot MacGruber (Will Forte) is finally released. His mission: to take down a mysterious villain from his past—Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth (Billy Zane). With the entire world in the crosshairs, MacGruber must reassemble his old team in order to defeat the forces of evil.
(L to R) Mike Myers and Dana Carvey in ‘Wayne’s World’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
The adventures of two amiably aimless metal-head friends, Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey). From Wayne’s basement, the pair broadcast a talk-show called “Wayne’s World” on local public access television. The show comes to the attention of a sleazy network executive who wants to produce a big-budget version of “Wayne’s World”—and he also wants Wayne’s girlfriend, a rock singer named Cassandra (Tia Carrere). Wayne and Garth have to battle the executive not only to save their show, but also Cassandra.
(L to R) Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi in ‘The Blues Brothers’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Jake Blues (John Belushi), just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) were raised.
Last week brought the exciting news that a “MacGruber” television series is in the works. Now, star Will Forte has offered a sneak peek of what fans might expect from it.
MacGruber started out as a “Saturday Night Live” character who then headlined 2010 action comedy movie. The film’s co-writer and director, Jorma Taccone, recently revealed that he is “aggressively” pitching a series to various platforms and that Forte, Kristen Wiig, and Ryan Phillippe were all on board to reprise their movie roles.
Then, last night on “The Tonight Show,” Forte and host Jimmy Fallon (standing in for Wiig as Vicki Gloria St. Elmo) performed a scene to demonstrate the “high-minded and complex direction that we’re taking the MacGruber character.”
In the bit, MacGruber wants some “R and R” time with Vicki — but he has a very different definition of that phrase.
With “Last Man on Earth” canceled by Fox last season, Forte now has time to play MacGruber again. Come on, Netflix/Amazon/Hulu/whoever, let’s get this “R and R” going.
A “MacGruber” series might be coming to a streaming service near you soon. With the entire cast returning.
Lonely Island member and former “SNL” writer Jorma Taccone told The Daily Beast that he’s been “aggressively” pitching a television series to streaming networks.
“We just spent the last two days pitching it as a series,” said Taccone. “Eight-to-ten episodes. I’m really hoping that when you print this there’s an announcement that it’s actually happening, because I know nothing right now. This is the first time I’ve mentioned it, so this may be a tragic interview.” (So far no, confirmation of a pick-up.)
The 2010 comedy (which began as an “SNL” sketch) was a send-up of ’80s series “MacGyver,” with wigs straight out of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” video. It was a flop when it was released, but it’s since become a cult classic. Taccone hopes the time is right to bring it back.
Hell, everything is coming back. Hollywood is like one big pet sematary right now. Why not?
Taccone says that the entire cast — Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Val Kilmer, Ryan Phillippe, and Maya Rudolph — are set to return. “It’s everyone. Val was blown up pretty badly, he’ll have half a head,” jokes Taccone.
(Of course, there’s no bringing back Powers Boothe: The “Deadwood” actor, who played Colonel Faith in the movie, passed away in 2017.)
“What’s nice is that, when you make something that had the heartbreak of not doing so well financially… I would feel terrible if the people involved were embarrassed about it, but Ryan loves that s**t, Kristen loves that s**t, all the people involved are so psyched.”
“We’ve had so many ideas over the years, from the moment we stopped filming. I just love this character so much,” said Taccone.
