Drop Dead Sexy (2005)

Maybe a bit mainstream for VZ1, but it sounds odd and twisted enough to warrant a look... despite the presence of the always-unbearable Jason Lee.

Eddie ( Crispin Glover) is a dimwitted gravedigger and Frank (Jason Lee) is a used car salesman.

Normally, Jason Lee drives me crazy - he's just so cocky and overconfident at all times. But as a loser conman used car salesman, the role fits him perfectly.

 My favorite part of the film; Frank has to dress up as the used car lot mascot, and a redneck hits him in the head with a baseball bat.

 Frank is fired from his job, and must resort to doing a job for the local crime boss, strip club owner, Spider ( Pruitt Taylor Vince).

 The job goes badly.  So, Frank moves on to his next score: digging up the body of Crystal Harkness (Melissa Keller). She was the wife of a wealthy businessman - and Frank thinks she'll have a fortune in jewelry on her.

 But Crystal has no jewelry.  Rather than put her back in the grave, they are forced to hide her, as the nightwatchman comes rolling up.  Eddie has to fill the grave back up, pretending he's working late.

The film definitely flirts with necrophilia taboos, as we're constantly watching the cleavage of the dead girl.

 The next day, Frank is out finding a way out of this mess while Eddie guards the body.

 Eddie has fantasies about the dead girl.

 When Frank comes home, he's horrified to find this scene.  Eddie swears he didn't do anything to her.

 Frank decides to leverage the situation in his favor, by extorting money from Harkness ( Xander Berkeley) in exchange for the body of his late wife.  Little does Frank realize, that Harkness is a bad dude, in league with Spider, and her death was no accident.

 Frank learns that Crystal was a stripper, and he teams up with the bartender, Natalie ( Audrey Marie Anderson), to find out what really happened to the girl.

 They visit the medical examiner, Herman (Brad Dourif) to get his expert opinion on Crystal's autopsy report.  Herman is in the midst of examining a recently murdered woman (uncredited actress).

 Once again, the film flirts with necrophilia as the camera ogles the cadaver's boobs.

Frank figures out that Spider killed Crystal.  He gives him a call, telling him to meet later tonight.  Spider's twin assistants are played by   Diane and Elaine Klimaszewski.

 Frank is held at gunpoint but remains cocky as always.  Classic Jason Lee.

It seems like after Tarantino hit it big, every action movie for the next ten years had a big shootout at the end.  Here, Frank leads Harkness and Spider to a hot tub where Crystal's body is laying.  A shootout ensues where everyone dies, but Frank, Eddie and Natalie, who escape with the money and go to Vegas.  THE END

I can't quite recommend, as it's just not that good.  However, it has its moments - going a lot further with necrophilia than I'd ever expect from a semi-mainstream movie like this. I felt like Crispin Glover kinda phoned this one in; he's usually so compelling as a socially-awkward misfit.  I never thought I'd find a Crispin Glover character to be forgettable and boring, but here it is.

It was a treat to see Brad Dourif as a necrophiliac coroner, that was definitely not forgettable and boring.  I think if I'd seen this in theater, I'd have been disappointed; but as a Blockbuster rental, this will do.
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆