A Taiwanese Film Review

Marry My Dead Body
關於我和鬼變成家人的那件事 (About My Ghost and Me Becoming Family)
2022 Comedy/Mystery

This movie follows Wu Ming-han (Greg Hsu), a policeman who mistakenly picks up a red envelope while collecting evidence, unknowingly trapping himself into a “ghost marriage” with Mao Mao (Austin Lin) who died in a recent accident. The movie is meant to be funny, and it is, in a ridiculous, laught out loud sort of way. Wu Ming-han is straight (and homophobic 🥴) and Mao Mao is gay, and this alone results in a lot of unfortunate (and comedic!) situations. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of ghost marriage, it is a tradition where a deceased person is married to someone (living or dead) as a way to provide peace for the soul and comfort to the family. It’s an old cultural practice that was seen to benefit both the living and the dead: the deceased, if female, might not get full ancestral rights if unmarried so this practice would guarantee her family line, and for the living, it is thought to resolve misfortune and bring good luck. There are a lot of other reasons a family might choose to perform a ghost marriage for a deceased family member (examples: the shame of having an unwed daughter, the continuation of a family lineage, or bereavement and mourning).

In this film, Mao Mao’s grandmother initiates the ghost marriage because she knew he’d wanted to propose to his boyfriend before his untimely death: a hit-and-run accident. The police closed the case after finding no leads, but the only way that Wu Ming-han can be free of his ghost husband is to resolve Mao Mao’s death so that his spirit finds peace.

The two end up working together to solve Mao Mao’s murder along with a major case in Wu Ming-Han’s department (and it should come as no surprise that the two cases end up being connected!) I won’t give away the full ending, but there is action, drama, and betrayal, all served up with a sprinkling of humor. 

The best part of this movie is the ending. We learn throughout the film that Mao Mao has had a difficult relationship with his father, who he feels doesn’t understand or support him. On the day of his death, he and his father fought over his desire to propose to his boyfriend. It is only at the end of the movie, when Mao Mao’s father comes to talk with Wu Ming-han, that we discover his father’s perspective and the ways that he was trying to love and protect his son.

The scene is unexpectedly emotional and touching. And it is this, the love from his father, that allows Mao Mao to finally find peace and move on into the afterlife. Honestly, the entire movie is good, but this ending is what changes this movie from a fun, light-hearted film you forget about in a day or two, to one that I will think about over and over as years go by.