Peter O'Toole is a hoot as the harried owner / operator of a run-down Irish castle. Since he is in dire straits financially, he decides on a gimmick: turn the castle into a ghost-themed tourist attraction. Soon, a bunch of customers from America have turned up, including married couple Jack and Sharon (Steve Guttenberg and Beverly D'Angelo), a parapsychologist (Martin Ferrero) and his family, a young priest (Peter Gallagher), and a ditsy sexpot (the one and only Jennifer Tilly). What happens is that some honest-to-God real ghosts show up, chief among them Mary and Martin (Daryl Hannah and Liam Neeson), who have been re-enacting his murder of her for almost 200 years now.
While this viewer is glad that some people do take great pleasure in "High Spirits", he found it a tedious mess often lacking in wit. It has a lot of spirit (pardon the expression) as it devises various frantic and farcical moments, but the material just isn't that great. I couldn't help but feel embarrassed for many of the actors, who frequently have to try too hard to make it all work. (The cast would charge that the producers were the ones that ruined the thing with their meddling and trashing of writer / director Neil Jordans' ("The Crying Game") good intentions.) The visual effects are variable, and production designer Anton Furst ("Batman" '89) creates some generally agreeable sets. A real castle in Ireland was also utilized, and there's some effective atmosphere generated from the location shooting that was done. The wind machine certainly goes full-blast at times.
Some actors come off better than others. O'Toole, Neeson, and Ray McAnally (as O'Tooles' ghostly father) are pretty amusing, and as you can see, there are some very lovely ladies on hand. The less said about Guttenberg, the better.
Overall, a disappointment, although it does tend to get somewhat better as it goes along.
Four out of 10.
While this viewer is glad that some people do take great pleasure in "High Spirits", he found it a tedious mess often lacking in wit. It has a lot of spirit (pardon the expression) as it devises various frantic and farcical moments, but the material just isn't that great. I couldn't help but feel embarrassed for many of the actors, who frequently have to try too hard to make it all work. (The cast would charge that the producers were the ones that ruined the thing with their meddling and trashing of writer / director Neil Jordans' ("The Crying Game") good intentions.) The visual effects are variable, and production designer Anton Furst ("Batman" '89) creates some generally agreeable sets. A real castle in Ireland was also utilized, and there's some effective atmosphere generated from the location shooting that was done. The wind machine certainly goes full-blast at times.
Some actors come off better than others. O'Toole, Neeson, and Ray McAnally (as O'Tooles' ghostly father) are pretty amusing, and as you can see, there are some very lovely ladies on hand. The less said about Guttenberg, the better.
Overall, a disappointment, although it does tend to get somewhat better as it goes along.
Four out of 10.