Curtain Call

A fun romantic comedy with Maggie Smith and Michael Caine as charming ghosts of a formerr era. The romance of the "alive" characters is fairly formula, but it is fun to watch Smith and Caine banter as they fade in and out of reality. Nothing serious, but a great movie for lovers of the theatre, or for bibliophiles.

"Curtain Call" (also called "It All Came True") is a film with a horrible pedigree. While it was released in some theaters, apparently it never did so in the USA and instead debuted on the Starz channel...sort of like a movie that goes straight to DVD. Obviously the production company had little faith in the film or perhaps ran out of money. This isn't all that unusual but for such a film to have Maggie Smith and Michael Caine in the film...that IS unusual.

When the story begins, Stevenon (James Spader) and his long-time girlfriend, Julia, are looking to buy a house. Now he is a successful publisher but he should NOT be able to afford the mansion that the realtor shows them. It's not only a gorgeous old place but it's in Manhattan and SHOULD cost a fortune to buy...especially since no one ever lived in it for long and it is essentially in brand new condition! Apparently, it was in probate for decades and the couple are able to get it for very little. But, of course, there is a catch....and that catch is that the place IS already occupied...by two ghosts!

Max and Lily (Michael Caine and Maggie Smith) are very nice ghosts who have lived there since the 1920s or 30s. And, unlike most ghosts in stories and films, they are nice and quite likable and nothing like those you'd see in "Ghostbusters"! And, like the nice couple who are ghosts in "Topper", the pair can apparently only be seen by Stevenson and offer him lots of advice...whether he wants it or not. They also can do rather magical things...like apparate anywhere they want in the world....though they seem to prefer spending most of their time in this mansion....and giving help to Stevenson concerning his miserable love life. Can Stevenson manage to live with these friendly ghosts or is this destined for failure?

I found that with this film in particular, reading through the reviews on IMDB was much less help than usual. The reviews either liked the film very much OR they thought it was less pleasant than a case of Ebola! Which is the truth and why such divergent opinions?!

So did I think it was any good? Well...some of this depends on you. For example, my wife HATES films which are cringe-worthy....whereas I often find them funny because of this. And, this movie is cringe-inducing at times....and if embarrassing scenes bother you, you might just hate parts of the film (such as the restaurant scene in Washington). I enjoyed it, as I found the film interesting and worthy as a time-passer. Not exactly brilliant (Spader was not at his best in this one), but Caine and Smith were charming.





By the way, if you can find this film anywhere other than the Popcorn Channel on the Roku, please see it that way instead. This channel places blocks of five commercials throughout the entire film...spaced every 5 or so minutes. I have never seen so many ads interrupt a film in my life. If I wasn't trying to see all of Michael Caine's films AND couldn't find it elsewhere, I would have just given up on the movie. I truly hope this channel goes out of business and soon, as seeing a movie like this is akin to torture. To make it worse, many times you are shown the same ad 5 times in a row!!

James Spader, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Julia Walker, Marcia Gay Harden, and Sam Shepard star in "Curtain Call," a 1999 film directed by Peter Yates.

Spader plays Stevenson Lowe, a bachelor with a steady girlfriend (Walker) who buys a gorgeous old townhouse. However, he soon learns that it's haunted by its former owners, a married couple (Smith and Caine) who were theatrical stars in a past era. And even in death, they don't get along. Julia, his girlfriend, unhappy that he can't commit to her, breaks up with him, and his family publishing business is going in a direction he's not happy about. Through it all, he learns some things about love and taking a stand from his ghostly guests - though they would say he is their guest.

This is a nice film, but formulaic, and the script isn't very strong. It's pleasant enough, and the performances are certainly good from this wonderful cast, which also includes Buck Henry and Francis Sternhagen. Although not groundbreaking, it's a pleasant way to pass the time if you're looking for light entertainment.

Romantic comedy's are hard to do well;"Curtain Call" succeeds better than most. It has a sweet taste to it, corny and a bit slow paced but its good for that day when you just want a fun film to entertain you. Good actors charm,with Michael Caine and Maggie Smith in fine form this movie is fun to watch. The supporting cast is strong but not given enough to do and includes Sam Shepard, Marcia Gay Hardin and Buck Henry in a comedic turn. The core of the film is Caine and Smith as two wisecracking ghosts, who even after death, cannot seem make peace with each other. You want blood, guts, horror, cursing and swearing find another movie. Your family can watch and enjoy this movie with few regrets and have a good time. There is no nudity and my only caution with be some cursing in one scene. James Spader, a truly good actor play a befuddled bachelor who eventually finds out whats important in life,with the help of two bickering ghosts ,from a time long past, but still warm in memory. Try it you should like it.

The executive Stevenson Lowe (James Spader) moves to New York to work in the publishing house that has belonged to his family for generations. He buys an old townhouse to live alone, disappointing his girlfriend Julia (Polly Walker) that believed they would move in together. Soon he discovers that the house is haunted by two amicable ghosts, the former theater stars from the 20's Max Gale (Michael Caine) and Lily Marlowe (Maggie Smith). Further, they are married and argue most of the time. Meanwhile, Senator Will Dodge (Sam Shepard) woos Julia and she breaks up with Stevenson. His professional and private life turns upside-down, since the publishing house decides to accept to publish commercial and shallow books; his former lover Michelle Tippet (Marcia Gay Harden) hits on him; Julia travels to Washington to meet the Senator; and the two ghosts quarrels all the time. But he learns how much he loves Julia. Will he succeed to have she back?

"Curtain Call" is a delightful romantic comedy, one of those films that is pleasant to see more than once. The wonderful cast with James Spader, Polly Walker, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Sam Shepard and Marcia Gay Harden has a perfect chemistry and seems to have fun while performing their characters. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Adoráveis Fantasmas" ("Lovely Ghosts")