(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.
(L to R) Simu Liu as Leo, Nathalie Emmanuel as Olivia, Mark Wahlberg as Michael and Ali Suliman as Chik in ‘Arthur The King.’ Photo Credit: Carlos Rodriguez.
In theaters on Friday, March 15th, ‘Arthur the King’ is the latest movie to be based on a true-life tale that throws all you might expect in about endurance, endeavor, sportsmanship and the love of animals, but slips into a few too many easy plot and emotional pitfalls.
Burdened with the fact that you’ll surely know the outcome even if you don’t the original story, the movie doesn’t offer up enough that feels fresh for the journey –– beyond the sweet lead dog, of course.
(L to R) Ali Suliman as Chik and Mark Wahlberg as Michael in ‘Arthur The King.’ Photo Credit: Carlos Rodriguez.
As ‘Shakespeare in Love’ reminded us, audiences love a bit with a dog. And ‘Arthur the King’ certainly has lots of heart-tugging bits with a dog. So if you can’t resist a true story that includes charming canine action, then the movie delivers.
The problem lies in the other areas –– though the story of Mikael Lindnord (Mark Wahlberg’s character is renamed to Michael Light) boasts plenty of challenge and struggle, the movie never quite finds a way to make you care about the man the way it does about the dog (and the canine companion doesn’t enter the picture until much later than you expect, despite his own brief initial storyline), meaning you might feel like you were sold a bill of goods, slogging your way through some very predictable team building and early race stages before you get to Arthur.
Script and Direction
Mark Wahlberg as Michael in ‘Arthur The King.’ Photo Credit: Carlos Rodriguez.
Written by Michael Brandt (‘Wanted’, ‘3:10 to Yuma’ ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’) based on Mikael Lindnord’s story, the movie, despite an already impressive narrative, feels the need to layer on plenty of Hollywood schmaltz. There’s the sweet, understanding wife (herself a racer, though retired) and daughter who track our hero’s progress from the home front. The arrogant former teammate who returns to help and whose social media/status obsession is both a hindrance and a help. An older colleague whose health issues slow the team, and a character whose ailing father encourages her to join the team despite her desire to stay behind and care for him.
When you have a predictable story, you need layers, but the ones that the movie chooses simply make it seem that much more cliched. And in keeping with a Hollywood-ized version of a true story that aims to leave you feeling happy and not conflicted, it naturally sands off some of the thornier elements, such as the controversy around Arthur being adopted and brought back to the States, whereupon a family claimed that Lindnord had effectively dognapped their pet (it all worked out for the best).
And the direction of Simon Cellan Jones, who worked with Wahlberg on Apple TV+’s recent movie ‘The Family Plan’, doesn’t really do much to help matters. Though he has some beautiful jungle backdrops for his characters, and a built-in story to cheer for, the overloads the movie with unearned sentiment and moments that will come across as less than authentic and far from original.
Even with the racing elements, the movie seems to wander more than it zips along (even with an actual zipline as part of the plot), and when the score goes into “inspirational overload” it’s more likely to make you sigh than cheer.
Still, there’s enough pleasure to be found, especially in the charming doggie moments and the interesting real-life racing elements –– adventure specialist Bear Grylls helps you keep track of what’s happening, offering the benefit of his experience, even if it does sometimes come across as watching a Twitch feed of someone playing a video game more than news coverage.
Performances
(L to R) Nathalie Emmanuel as Olivia, Mark Wahlberg as Michael, Ali Suliman as Chik and Simu Liu as Leo in ‘Arthur The King.’ Photo Credit: Carlos Rodriguez.
Wahlberg is largely on autopilot here –– as the adventure racer, he’s pretty much exactly what you expect from the actor, with little room for nuance. But his low-key charisma works for an endurance athlete, and he at least looks the part. That said, you’re never really in doubt that he’s going to succeed (on the dog adoption front, if nothing else).
As Leo, Simu Liu manages to walk the tricky tightrope of seeming smug without being unlikable. The Instagram-happy character is a solid addition to the team, and Liu juggles his initial cynicism and later bond with Arthur effectively.
Ali Suliman plays Chik, an old friend of Michaels, and a savvy navigator with seven world championships under his belt. But now, suffering with old injuries, he’s not sure he wants to jump back into the racing world. You can guess what actually happens just by reading this character summary, but Suliman at least brings real personality to role and plays well off of Wahlberg.
Nathalie Emmanuel is somewhat lumbered with the role of Olivia, the daughter of an ailing climbing legend. There’s not much to chew on here for the actor, who nevertheless does what she can. But at times she’s reduced to being someone Wahlberg has to rescue or simply fading into the background.
And the less said about wife Helen (Juliet Rylance) and daughter Ruby (Cece Valentina), who could be cardboard cut-outs for all the actual character they have. Both actors are fine, but they’re such nothingburger roles you feel for them.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Simu Liu as Leo and Mark Wahlberg as Michael in ‘Arthur The King.’ Photo Credit: Carlos Rodriguez.
While it mostly has to rely on its canine star rather than its humans for its pleasures, ‘Arthur the King’ does have some lush backdrops and an interesting world in the adventure racing sphere.
It’s just a shame that it falls down every single cliché cliff possible at the same time.
‘Arthur the King’ receives 6 out of 10 stars.
tEfOuKRjOVPhCGgUBixtE3
What is the Plot of ‘Arthur the King’?
Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur. Based on an incredible true story, ‘Arthur the King’ follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes (Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman) for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in-person with Mark Wahlberg to talk about his work on ‘Arthur the King,’ what audiences can expect, the true story it is based on, physically preparing to play an adventure racer, bonding with his canine co-star on set, and his love for his own dogs.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Wahlberg, Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ali Suliman, director Simon Cellan Jones, and real-life subject Michael Brandt.
Mark Wahlberg as Michael in ‘Arthur The King.’ Photo Credit: Carlos Rodriguez.
Moviefone: To begin with, what would you say to audiences sitting down to watch this movie to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about to have?
Mark Wahlberg: You’re going to laugh, you’re going to cry, you’re going to cheer, and then you’re going to go out and adopt a dog. That’s just what’s going to happen. But no, it’s so exciting for this movie, especially, to be in theaters. I went to a screening yesterday in a theater that I used to visit three or four times with my kids and my wife, and I would go once or twice on my own, and we always just took away that experience of sitting there laughing, crying and enjoying films with others and strangers. So, to see that happening again and giving people so much hope and so much joy, it’s nice.
(L to R) Mark Wahlberg as Michael and Simu Liu as Leo in ‘Arthur The King.’ Photo Credit: Carlos Rodriguez.
MF: Can you talk about how Arthur changes Michael’s life through the course of this film, and have you ever had an experience with a dog that really changed your life?
MW: Look, my dogs, we just finally potty-trained the four of them, so that’s changed my life quite a bit because I can just feel comfortable walking barefoot to the kitchen in the morning without turning the lights on and waking somebody else up by turning the lights on in the hallway. But it was remarkable to me because Michael was so obsessed with the idea of winning. He was obsessed with proving that he was good enough to become a world champion, and he was so close. Everything that he had done up until that point was very selfish. I mean, let’s not try to water that down. Athletes must be self-absorbed and self-obsessed to be able to go out there and give that kind of time, attention and dedication to something, especially adventure racing. So, to see him make that drastic a decision and something that’s so selfless and will alter the rest of his life in the way that it does… but everything happens for a reason, and I know he wouldn’t change it for anything.
(L to R) Simu Liu as Leo and Mark Wahlberg as Michael in ‘Arthur The King.’ Photo Credit: Carlos Rodriguez.
MF: Did you bond with the dog playing Arthur immediately and what was it like working with him?
MW: We were neighbors, and we had to spend quite a bit of time together because we were going to be together for most of the time. I would immediately start feeding him things he wasn’t supposed to eat, or the trainer wouldn’t normally allow, and just getting to spend that time. But I’d never, ever imagined that he would be so engaged and so connected to me on an intimate and emotional level. It was incredible.
(L to R) Ali Suliman as Chik and Mark Wahlberg as Michael in ‘Arthur The King.’ Photo Credit: Carlos Rodriguez.
MF: Finally, can you talk about the challenges of physically preparing to play an adventure racer and what was it like for you to have a glimpse into their world?
MW: The thing that prepared me the most was doing ‘Lone Survivor’ because for something like adventure racing, it takes a different person. They just have a different makeup. It’s all about suffering. It’s about being able to endure mentally and physically. The level of suffering that they go through and the things that they put themselves through, you must be a special individual to be able to do that. So, I think tearing my meniscus on the first day of shooting put me in the head space that I needed to be. I certainly felt that pain every day, whether I was walking back to the set after. I mean, you felt it every day, but you also felt that you’re onto something and doing something special, and you don’t get that kind of fulfillment and that energy that you can’t wait to get back there the next day and continue that on a lot of films. So, it is something that happens rarely, it’s a rare thing.
tEfOuKRjOVPhCGgUBixtE3
What is the Plot of ‘Arthur the King’?
Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur. Based on an incredible true story, ‘Arthur the King’ follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes (Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman) for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.
(L to R) Simu Liu as Leo, Nathalie Emmanuel as Olivia, Mark Wahlberg as Michael and Ali Suliman as Chik in ‘Arthur The King.’ Photo Credit: Carlos Rodriguez.
