High Spirits (1988)

Thanks for the memories!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Nice cast -- and they all do a fine job with two exceptions. Steve Guttenberg's natural venue is a television situation comedy, and Beverly D'Angelo brings a touch of subtlety to her role. Subtlety is otherwise absent from this frantic mess.O'Toole is the owner of Plunkett Castle, actually Dromore Castle in County Limerick. Oh, it's a grand place, it is. I assume the interiors are sets but they're rich with atmosphere, a knockout place to throw a party. No kidding. It would be colossal fun to live in such a stony place, festooned as it is with cobwebs, as long as Darryl Hannah were running around in a diaphanous gown.Anyway, O'Toole must pay the mortgage or lose the castle and see it transported to Malibu where it will be converted into a theme park or something. To save his home, O'Toole remodels it and advertises it as a haunted hotel. Fake ghosts and goblins and banshees are arranged. Of course the plan falls apart because of the shoddy design, but then the real ghosts start showing up, for reasons known only to ghosts.It's all frenzied. It's too loud, too fast, and too clumsy. The jokes are fast, okay, but they're slapstick and ill thought out. The movie treats drunkenness as if that were funny in and of itself, although it's not. The dialog doesn't twinkle. Nobody says anything very amusing or clever. It reminded me of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" or, to a lesser extent, "1941." All had plenty of zest and not much else.It's a disappointment considering the talent and production values on display. Too bad. The writer/director, Neil Jordan, was responsible for the superior "Mona Lisa" and "The Crying Game." He seems to have gotten lost in the hidden passageways and spooky compartments here.

Peter Plunkett (Peter O'Toole) is the drunk owner of a rundown Irish castle turned hotel. He needs to come up with the money in three weeks or else he will be foreclosed and the castle moved to Malibu. With his annoying mother's stories of ghosts, he gets his ragtag group of workers to haunt the castle for the arriving Yank tourists. Among the Americans are Jack (Steve Guttenberg) and wife Sharon Crawford (Beverly D'Angelo), Brother Tony (Peter Gallagher) before he takes his vows, Miranda (Jennifer Tilly) who has swore off men, Malcolm (Martin Ferrero) and his loud annoying family. The haunting efforts are amateurish but then the real ghosts show up. Sharon's father holds the mortgage and she's eager to disprove the ghosts. On the other hand, Jack falls for the beautiful ghost Mary (Daryl Hannah). Mary was killed by her husband Martin Brogan (Liam Neeson) and they are both forced to relive the moment. A drunken Jack breaks the moment.This could have been a fun little British romp about a bunch of local misfits trying to make a haunted castle. It has the potential to do that but the more Hollywood it gets, the less fun it becomes. The movie concentrates too much on the Americans. The more wacky the movie tries to be, the less funny it actually is. It's a funhouse without the fun. This is written and directed by Neil Jordan. It's possibly the low point of his career. Broad comedy isn't his thing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Peter O'Toole is wonderful as are the remainder of the actors. This movie is part of my DVD collection.It's a screwball comedy about what people will do to try to save their livelihood, marriages, etc. Some of the situations that the characters find themselves in are a bit corny; however, they are still funny. It's also somewhat of a ghostly movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending.If you've ever lived in England, Ireland, or Scotland, the characters in this movie will remind you warmly of those people.It is a movie that you can sit down with the family and some popcorn and enjoy.

When Peter Plunkett's Irish castle turned hotel is about to be repossessed, he decides to spice up the attraction a by having his staff haunt the castle.The trouble begins when a bus load of American tourists arrive - along with some real ghosts.Among the tourists are married couple Jack and Sharon. Sharon's father holds the mortgage on Castle Plunkett, so she's hoping to debunk the ghosts.Jack, on the other hand, after meeting pretty ghost Mary, is very eager to believe.Can there be love between a human and ghost? The thing with this film is not to pat too much attention to the problems, or you will begin to hate the movie. Guttenberg delivers his normal schtick in this, albeit a little bit more adult this time around.For the eighties, this really had quite an impressive cast. O'Toole must have been method acting in this because in some scenes he really does appear to be under the influence.The rest of the cast are average, but Kudos to Hannah for having one of the worst Irish accents I have ever heard on screen, No wonder Neeson has spent 200 years killing her.The effects are okay, and its quite reminiscent of a dodgy carry on film, in the fact that the humour is a little bit seaside saucy.Other than that it's very disjointed, edited badly, and really makes little sense.