Blithe Spirit

Last night I went to see Blithe Spirit and, while it was a nice change to see a comedy after all of the serious dramas of late, I didn't like it as much as I hoped I would.  Successful crime novelist Charles Condomine (Dan Stevens) is trying to write a screenplay based on one of his books but he has been suffering from writer's block ever since his first wife and muse, Elvira (Leslie Mann), died seven years ago.  He is desperate for inspiration because he is facing a deadline imposed on him by his father-in-law.  While attending the stage show of Madame Arcati (Judi Dench), a fraudulent spiritualist and medium, he decides to incorporate the supernatural into his screenplay and invites her to perform a seance at his house to learn the tricks of the trade.  Instead, Madame Arcati inadvertently summons the ghost of Elvira, much to the dismay of Condamine's second wife Ruth (Isla Fisher), and chaos ensues.  I really wanted to like this movie because it is based on a hilarious play by Noel Coward and includes an outstanding cast with a stylish Art Deco production design and glamorous period costumes.  Despite all of this I think it lacks a certain spark.  There are changes to the source material, particularly in the final act, that make the narrative unnecessarily convoluted in the service of promoting a feminist message and the inclusion of Madame Arcati's sentimental backstory creates a strange tonal shift.  While there are moments of physical comedy that are really funny, most notably during scenes where Charles is the only one who can see Elvira, they are few and far between and the slapstick is a poor substitute for the usual witty back and forth banter that this play is known for.  I was really struck by the fact that the large crowd in my screening didn't seem to laugh very much.  Finally, Mann is the only one who delivers her lines with the charm and sophistication necessary for a Noel Coward comedy.  Everyone else seems bland in comparison.  The best thing that I can say about this movie is that it looks good (I found myself paying more attention to the details of the set design than to the action).  I was a bit disappointed in this adaptation and I would definitely recommend seeing this on the stage instead of the screen.