The 52: Marry My Dead Body

  From June 2023 to June 2024 I'll be watching a lgbtqia+ film each week and coming back here with my thoughts, feelings and plenty of hopes we aren't met with the "kill your gays" trope. I call this The 52. 

I’ve officially found my new favourite film to hit the list.

Image credit: Wikipedia

Marry My Dead Body is… magnificently ridiculous.

The story opens with a homophobe as our main character, which surprised me more than I would care to say, but have no fear! This homophobe is about to go on the journey of his life and by the end of it… we might just have a good egg (spoiler: we do).

So, Romi, you might ask: what might a film do to prove homophobia is ~not it~ in such a monumental way? Well, ghost marriage. Ghost marriage allll the way.

After picking up a red envelope, Wu Ming-Han finds himself at the alter with the ghost of Mao Pang-yu. Not wanting to marry a ghost, especially not the ghost of a gay guy, he refuses the marriage, gets cursed, nearly shoots his crotch off and *wedding bells* But this isn’t just any ghost marriage, because Mao can’t pass on until his death is avenged - and lucky for him, Wu is a police officer.

Wu is, of course, still a dick at this point and refuses to address Mao by any name that isn’t homophobic, which is how we get what is unarguably the best scene in the film: Mao, possessing Wu’s body, strips off, runs into the street and starts pole dancing in front of a police officer.

Completely bizarre, fantastically unique, a film I could actually feel the heart in… I would never have expected to like a film whose main character was openly homophobic (internalised homophobia is different, this guy was just an arse), but this one… the relationship that forms between Wu and Mao is incredibly impressive and moving, the way the two rely on each other and make each other better (although Mao is, undoubtly, almost perfect to begin with)… it is so very good.

Also featured: maniacal laughter, a drug lord, and police not standing for homophobia.

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