Blithe Spirit

There's more Madame Arcati, which can only be a bonus when Dench has the role. And there's a riff on the pros and cons of having a ghostwriter that I think is quite clever.

Leaving aside one's devotion to the previous versions of Blithe Spirit, this latest version is well cast, upbeat and a bit of a rainbow in a time marked so heavily by unwavering rain clouds.

Spirited performances and wonderful costume design stand little chance against script and direction that smother sparks beneath slapstick and treacle.

At just 95 minutes, the film's relatively short running time still feels stretched to the limits. A decided lack of dizzy, silly, fizzy screwball fun beyond a few scattered moments doesn't help matters.

Blithe Spirit is a jaw-dropping misfire.

Director Edward Hall and writers Piers Ashworth, Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft have taken Coward's premise and pumped extra sugar into it, as well as some unnecessary preservatives.

“Blithe Spirit” isn’t without its charms and their are some laugh-out-loud moments of sly dialogue and slapstick humor that really work. But there’s still the feeling that the movie misses an opportunity to be more.

A fairly lightweight story, meaning this lightweight adaptations flaws dont seem so obvious. Lovers of the 1945 David Lean version, however, wont find anything to dislodge that title from their affections.

The setting is exquisite, Leslie Mann is frankly fine as the fussing and ectoplasmic Elvira and Judi Dench is endearing as the scammer Madame Arcati. Too bad Dan Stevens is not up to the task, especially with Rex Harrison in mind. [Full review in Spanish]

Irritating. Just irritating.