Agitando os Espíritos

You don't know me, but take my word for it, this movie is a true gem. These high-power, smart, funny, comic savant women got together and (I'm sure) had the best time of their lives making this film. And we are the beneficiaries.

There are only a few wonderful "screwball" comedies. The last one I remember seeing was "What's Up Doc?", until now "In the Spirit", directed by Sandra Seacat, is right up there with the best of them. In fact, I might suggest that the "spirit" is not only Reva's inner guides, but the ghosts of Hitchcock ("Mr.& Mrs. Smith"), Cukor ("The Awful Truth"), and Hawks ("Bringing Up Baby") are alive and well and kicking up their heels!

I hope you have as much fun watching as I did!

I only wish it would come out on DVD! I've been an Elaine May fan forever and this is typical of her off-beat humor. Love this film so much, I actually suffer watching it on VHS. It's about two women who are extremely different. One (the Elaine May character) is a materialistic princess who is married to Peter Falk. The other, Marlo Thomas, is a ditsy new-ager. Somehow their paths cross and they must combine forces against the evils of the New York streets. Marlo Thomas plays her silly, idealistic part to the hilt. Don't over-analyze it - just enjoy! This is screwball comedy at its finest!

And if anyone knows where I can find the DVD, please let me know!

Few films have touched my life like this one. How can a person not laugh when a prostitute is accidentally killed when she's standing on the frame of a waterbed and it gives way and the mattress rolls over on her? Marlo Thomas, as new age health food store owner, Reeva Prosky gives the performance of a lifetime. She and Elaine May (Maryann Flan) not only share the same darma - they are the most humerous on-screen comedy duo in the history of film. The supporting cast is flawless - Peter Falk ("Why don't you come over and have some kelp?"); Melanie Griffith ("You mean like 'Finger-Licking Good' or 'Twenty Laps'?"); and Olympia Dukakis ("I have a husband with a heart condition and two children on drugs!") all bring new meaning to the word brilliant. The true star of the movie is Jeannie Berlin, who plays double duty as both the co- screenplay writer and the prostitute Crytsal. Not since William Shakespeare has there been such a story written for stage or screen. This movie changed my life.

It taught me the important life lesson that sometimes "the wise may act foolishly, the fool may act wisely, and the hunter may become the pray."

"In The Spirit" (1990) is a refreshingly female-oriented buddy comedy-mystery (despite the title, the fantasy elements are mininal), with an eclectic and unapologetically middle-aged cast. Marlo Thomas and Elaine May look damn good in their fifties and are perfectly in tune with each other as a comedy team (with some serious moments, too). May also shares some scenes with her real-life daughter, Jeannie Berlin, who co-wrote the film and has a smaller but amusingly foul-mouthed role. With all that said, the film itself could have been funnier. It feels mild and low-budget, perhaps ideal viewing for a lazy evening. **1/2 out of 4.

My review was written in March 1990 after a screening on Manhattan's UES.

Elaine May and Marlo Thomas make a memorable screen odd couple in "In the Spirit". Kooky black comedy is for specialized tastes but stands a chance to find an appreciative audience among those longing for off-the-wall humor.

Pic is an unusual case on the current scene of big-name talent gathering with friends to make a low-budget film freed of mainstream good taste and gloss. The experiment works and plays like a throwback to the looser, madcap '60s.

"Spirit" also harks back to the black comedy spirit of Jules Feiffer's "Little Murders", as directed for the screen in 1971 by Alan Arkin. Again, New York is a nightmare, with May moving back to Gotrham from Beverly Hills with her just-fired hubby Peter Falk. She's thrown together with ditzy mystic Thomas fater hiring her to redecorate an apartment.

Almost as goofy as Thomas is Jeannie Berlin, a prostitute neighbor. Her matter-of-fact foul-mouthed pronouncements cue Falk's hilarious take so astonishment. Fact of family resemblance between Berlin and her real-life molm May (who directed her in "The Heartbreak Kid") gives a strange bookends look to these early scenes.

Berlin, co-scripter with Laurie Jones, writes herself out of the picture after the second reel and "Spirit" spins off in a different direction. Thomas and May flee the city to hole up at Michael Emil's New Age retreat in upstate New YHork, pursued by a murderer. First-time director Sandrfa Seacat emphasizes slapstick but also female bonding as the gals on the lam reach beyond their wacky survivalist tactics to address feminist issues.

The picture works in fits and starts; its weakest element being a stupid framing device of a mystical narrator telling us about the cosmic links between the characters. Midway change of tone may put off some viewers, but others will likely relish the intensity of th eMya and Thomas segment.

Script by Berlin and Jones (latter also popping up as a clumsy maid) perceptively mocks trendy attitudes a la Caitlin Adams/Melanie Mayron's "Sticky Fingers". In-jokes range from the obvious (mystical Shirley MacLaine) to the obscure (Robin Byrd's local cable access tv show).

In her first screen role since 1978 ("California Suite"), Elaine May is very funny, giving a lesson in rat-a-tat-tat delivery. Marlo Thomas proves a perfect foil, leading to a satisfying role reversal at pic's end.

Besides Falk, who's morose enough here to challenge monologist Brother Theodore (Gottlieb) in the realm of dark humor, guest star Melanie Griffith is perfect as a prostitute interviewed by Thomas and May (both funny in disguises as fellow hookers), who strips down to her black undies in homage to her previous Mike Nichols' "Working Girl" role. Emil and Olympia Dukakis are wasted in brief assignments.

Pic is claustrophobic with its emphasis on closeups, but that's not damaging due to its overall paranoia theme.