Curtain Call

CURTAIN CALL (2 outta 5 stars)

Harmless, barely amusing tale of some blank-souled Yuppies who move into a house which turns out to be haunted by the spirits of a bickering husband and wife acting team (Michael Caine, Maggie Smith). James Spader plays the only person who can see them... as they continue to dispense advice... and turn his life upside down as he tries to avoid serious commitment to his long-time fiancée. Not really very funny, not really very romantic, not really very anything... just a way to kill some time. Not one of the more memorable comedies about ghosts annoying the living. Maybe with a better script the cast could have salvaged something out of it.

One would think that with this excellent cast, a film maker could create somewhat of a classic. That didn't happen in this case. James Spader is a brilliant and natural actor, but he just can't pull off romantic comedy. This film reminded me of the plot of "Topper" where the poor bumbling fool is haunted by married ghosts in their former home. Spader looked totally lost when it came to delivering his lines, and the ghosts (Michael Caine and Maggie Smith) were an old couple who were typically snippy with each other during the duration of the film in a feeble attempt to create comedic situations. If you're planning to see this one because of the cast, please invest your time in some other movie.

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")

What a perfect gem of a film. It would be a mean and clumsy spirit that did not respond kindly to this wonderful confection. Above all, the expertise of a crew led by the director of The Dresser which includes actors of the calibre of Michael Cain, Maggie Smith, Sam Shepard , not to mention Peter Spader, Polly Walker and Buck Henry leaves the viewer with a sense of secure pleasure that is very rare in today's cinema. The only scene which didn't quite work for me was the confrontation scene with Shepard in Washington but everything else flowed like a premier cru. Add cinematography, wardrobe and music that add to the sense of professionalism (no wonder the house and the New Year's Eve party seem so desirable!) and you have ninety minutes of gentle good humour. Michael Cain says towards the end "they don't write tunes like this any more" but here, once again, they did make a film like those by George Cukor with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. What a Philistine society we live in now that acclaims those commercial potboilers with poor old Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts and overlooks a masterpiece like this.

It's funny that these sort of films used to be the mainstream back in the 30s and 40s. Now they're the "small" films. First of all, I can't believe they got this cast together.Even the smallest parts have great people in them. And the camera loves few women like it loves Polly Walker. This is a film for adults. Spader's character is a book editor and the film concerns how to keep love going as you get older. Geez, no wonder it's not mainstream.