Blithe Spirit

Any time we see a movie, we have to suspend disbelief in order to get into the fictional world of a film (that's not a documentary). The huge problem with Blithe Spirit is that much of it was so unbelievable as to make it almost impossible to suspend disbelief and therefore impossible to watch. Basically, the main theme of this version of Noel Coward's play, is that after the main male character's deceased ex-wife is summoned forth from a medium who's supposed to be a fraud (Judi Dench), said deceased ex-wife sets out to get between her former husband and his now (living) wife. For me, the big problem here was that the husband, a crime-writer, acts in such a stupid and irrational way that the whole film just seems ridiculous. Plus, the former wife, played to the hilt by Leslie Mann, was a stereotype of the vengeful scorned wife, even though anyone who is rational would recognize that that's not what she really was. Specifically, once he has "seen" the ghost of his former wife and realizes others don't see her, he should have altered his behavior accordingly. Instead he keeps repeating the same moronic behavior over and over which just served to make me angry. Did the director and/or scriptwriter really think an audience would go for this? Despite this major flaw, the film was visually engaging and busy enough to keep me watching despite my annoyance.

This is a remake of the Noel Coward play which has been done better. Famous author Charles Condomine (Dan Stevens) has had writer's block since the death of his wife Elvira (Leslie Mann). Her ghost is revived by Judi Dench to the dismay of his second wife Isla Fisher. Actors seemed to be just going through the motions. I was hoping they would have done a modernized version instead of keeping it in 1937. I failed to have a good laugh.

I thought it was going to be a stuffy movie, but it turned out quite watchable. I had to pause the movie where the husband first meets with his wife's father and her father ends up punching him because I couldn't stop laughing. The rest of the movie never quite reaches that level of comedy again but stays interesting and unpredictable (assuming no reference point to a classic recreation.)

Greetings again from the darkness. Contrary to what one might assume, bringing entertaining, silly slapstick comedy to the screen is actually quite difficult. This is director Edward Hall's first feature film, as his career has been mostly in TV series work and on stage. That stage work is likely what attracted him to this long-time favorite from Noel Coward. Adding to the difficulty is that Coward's work was previously brought to the screen by legendary director David Lean in 1945, in a project that featured Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay Hammond, and Margaret Rutherford. Lean's film won an Oscar for Special Effects. Director Hall is working with a script adapted from Coward's play by Piers Ashworth, Meg Leonard, and Nick Moorcroft. Rather than embrace the witty dialogue of a sophisticated upper class screwball comedy, this one seems committed to a level of silliness that intentionally overshadows the supernatural story line. It's 1937 England where we first meet crime novelist Charles Condomine (Dan Stevens) in an angry, whisky-laced state of writer's block. He's trying to adapt his own novel into his first screenplay, and the pressure is mounting since the movie's Producer is also his father-in-law. Charles' second wife Ruth (Isla Fisher) enjoys her life of luxury and can't understand why her successful husband can't do it (in more ways than one). Date night at the theatre inspires Charles to invite the spiritualist medium Madame Arcati (Judi Dench) to their house to conduct a séance. This despite Madame Arcati being exposed as a fraud. He's simply desperate to break his writer's block. The story takes a turn when the séance conjures Charles' first wife Elvira (Leslie Mann). However, he's the only one who can see her, and neither Elvira nor Ruth are pleased with the presence of the other. On the bright side, Elvira assists Charles with his writing - it turns out she was long his muse (and maybe more). Leslie Mann and Isla Fisher are two of the most talented comic actresses working today, but even they can't save this nonsensical barrage of motion. Judi Dench is an Oscar winner, and at 86 years old, she still excels at working a scene. On the other end of the spectrum, Mr. Stevens has neither the charm nor the comedic chops to pull off the Charles character as written. And it does seem the script, and the approach to the material, is what turns this into a vacuous affair, seemingly devoid of any cleverness save what the trio of talented actresses deliver. There are plenty of movies that deal with life after death in various ways, but whether serious or farcical, the best are entertaining. Unfortunately, this one has little to offer, and actually turns from not very funny to downright mean by the end.

This is a remake of the Noel Coward play which has been done better. Famous author Charles Condomine (Dan Stevens) has had writer's block since the death of his wife Elvira (Leslie Mann). Her ghost is revived by Judi Dench to the dismay of his second wife Isla Fisher. Actors seemed to be just going through the motions. I was hoping they would have done a modernized version instead of keeping it in 1937. I failed to have a good laugh.