Over my dead body is the only way I could recommend the new movie starring Eva Longoria Parker, Paul Rudd and Lake Bell.

"Over Her Dead Body" is another reason why moviegoers suffer from SAD or seasonal affective disorder this time of year. Prestige projects are released in the fall and at Christmas, and crowd-pleasers in the summer.

Exceptions to this rule always surface, but this romantic comedy isn't one of them. Unless you find these things amusing: a man accidentally lighting his arm on fire, a woman who ends up covered with mustard at a hot-dog cart or a ghost making prolonged flatulence noises to cool the ardor of her fiance's new girlfriend.

"Over Her Dead Body" stars the "Desperate Housewives" actress as Kate, a Bridezilla fussing over the setup for her wedding reception. But she never makes it to the ceremony after an ice sculpture -- which she rejected because it was an angel minus the expected wings -- falls off a truck and crushes her to death.

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'Over Her Dead Body'

1 1/2 stars = Bad
Ratings explained

• Starring: Eva Longoria Parker, Paul Rudd, Lake Bell.
• Rating: PG-13 for sexual content and language.
• Web site: overherdeadbodymovie.com

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When her fiance, Henry (Rudd), is still grieving a year later, his sister drags him to a psychic, Ashley (Bell). Henry, a veterinarian, turns from skeptic to believer and starts to fall for Ashley, who is soon haunted by Kate's belligerent ghost.

Kate cannot have Henry, and she doesn't want anyone else to have him, either. "I can hound you every second of every day," she threatens.

If the otherworldly intervention weren't enough, there are some secrets that, once exposed, make life even more complicated.

Jeff Lowell, who scripted the teen comedy "John Tucker Must Die," wrote and directed "Over Her Dead Body." There is no sizzle between Longoria Parker and the always likable Rudd; they seem so different you cannot imagine what made them a couple in the first place.

Rudd and Bell aren't much better in the chemistry department, and a subplot involving Bell and her assistant (Jason Biggs) in the catering business she somehow runs from her apartment kitchen is ludicrous.

The movie's funniest scenes, in fact, involve Rudd and a parrot. Too bad someone didn't teach it to say, "Polly want a rewrite." Or a laugh.