This is the discussion thread for the Nerd Pride Radio Movie of the Every Other Week!
This thread is only for those who have seen the movie recently. Commentary from people who haven't seen it will be deleted.
This Every Other Week’s Movie: High Spirits, selected by Tahlvin
WARNING- ALL SPOILERS FOR THIS MOVIE ARE ALLOWED! For real, if you haven't seen it, don't read any further!
Discuss!
[MEOW] High Spirits
[MEOW] High Spirits
All I know is my food tastes better when I take my food-tastes-better pill.
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Tahlvin
- Scottish Joker
- Posts: 5397
- Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:31 pm [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1236: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
Re: [MEOW] High Spirits
I hadn't seen this for quite awhile. I forgot that a very young Liam Neeson was in it. More to come later.
Wash: "This is gonna get pretty interesting."
Mal: "Define interesting."
Wash: "Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die?"
Mal: "Define interesting."
Wash: "Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die?"
Re: [MEOW] High Spirits
Very surprised to see Neeson.
I don't have a lot of thoughts on this one. It's very much a late 80s Gutenberg comedy. I felt like this could have been so much better. It wanted to be a romantic comedy, but the romance was thin and contrived, and the movie never really committed to it. It also wanted to be a screwball comedy, ala Stripes or Caddyshack or Young Frankenstein, but it couldn't pull that off either.
Overall, just disappointing.
I don't have a lot of thoughts on this one. It's very much a late 80s Gutenberg comedy. I felt like this could have been so much better. It wanted to be a romantic comedy, but the romance was thin and contrived, and the movie never really committed to it. It also wanted to be a screwball comedy, ala Stripes or Caddyshack or Young Frankenstein, but it couldn't pull that off either.
Overall, just disappointing.
All I know is my food tastes better when I take my food-tastes-better pill.
-
Tahlvin
- Scottish Joker
- Posts: 5397
- Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:31 pm [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1236: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
Re: [MEOW] High Spirits
It's definitely different watching it now than it was back in the 80's. Definitely a combination of the societal changes as well as me having grown and matured. Definitely didn't hold up on viewing again all these years later.
You're right that the romance side of things doesn't really get it done. It seemed a bit like an attempted vehicle to have Guttenberg branch out from his Police Academy comedies, mixing some more romance with the comedy aspect, but doesn't quite get it done. Peter O'Toole seemed out of place in this cast.
You're right that the romance side of things doesn't really get it done. It seemed a bit like an attempted vehicle to have Guttenberg branch out from his Police Academy comedies, mixing some more romance with the comedy aspect, but doesn't quite get it done. Peter O'Toole seemed out of place in this cast.
Wash: "This is gonna get pretty interesting."
Mal: "Define interesting."
Wash: "Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die?"
Mal: "Define interesting."
Wash: "Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die?"
Re: [MEOW] High Spirits
Okay- I watched this several weeks ago, but was only on mobile when the thread opened up. So I apologize for my late feedback.
I did not like this movie. Tahlvin's right. This just didn't hold up. And if I had seen it in the 80s on repeat on HBO, I'm pretty sure that 14 year old me would have loved it, right? The medieval ghosts, the raunchy humor, It-Girl Darryl Hannah, the Guttenberg. But it just didn't age well. I kind of feel like slapsticky-humor like this never does. Remember how HILARIOUS Benny Hill used to be? The Three Stooges? Not so much anymore. I feel like the humor in this movie really fell victim to that. We just don't think watching a bed crash around and down a flight of stairs is funny.
But I didn't hate everything about it. I disagree that Peter O' Toole was miscast. I kind of love late-career O' Toole. It's like that period in Michael Caine's career where he'd do any role for the right paycheck ("I'm a paid actor, goddamn it."). And even if he is phoning in his performance for a stupid movie that he knows he's better than--- it was still kind of a great performance in that, who-gives-a-fuck way.
The real star of this show, however, is Beverly D'Angelo. This movie reminded me of how much I love her. She had a character she could play really well and she knew it: the super-sexy shrew that you love to hate. Coincidentally, I saw her playing a gentler version of this same character in Christmas Vacation several days after watching High Spirits. I don't mean this as hyperbole- she is a truly great actor performing her character perfectly in this movie (and pretty much every movie she's in). The real shame of it all is this: she was stuck in the BS stereotyped roles that Hollywood wrote for women in the 80s and 90s. And now that she's older, Hollywood doesn't have a place for her (as it doesn't for any woman over the age of 40). Can you imagine a 25-year-old Beverly D'Angelo acting in today's Hollywood? Holy shit. She's be bigger than Scarjo, Jennifer Lawrence and Brie Larson combined. She's a goddamn national treasure and it's a shame we don't recognize it.
But don't get me wrong. This movie sucked. And it largely sucked because Steve Guttenberg only knows how to make two faces: (1) the "aw-shucks" what's-going-on face; and (2) the uber-surprised gas face that makes him look like Bill Murray being bullrushed by Slimer. I like Guttenberg, but this guy is limited.
I did not like this movie. Tahlvin's right. This just didn't hold up. And if I had seen it in the 80s on repeat on HBO, I'm pretty sure that 14 year old me would have loved it, right? The medieval ghosts, the raunchy humor, It-Girl Darryl Hannah, the Guttenberg. But it just didn't age well. I kind of feel like slapsticky-humor like this never does. Remember how HILARIOUS Benny Hill used to be? The Three Stooges? Not so much anymore. I feel like the humor in this movie really fell victim to that. We just don't think watching a bed crash around and down a flight of stairs is funny.
But I didn't hate everything about it. I disagree that Peter O' Toole was miscast. I kind of love late-career O' Toole. It's like that period in Michael Caine's career where he'd do any role for the right paycheck ("I'm a paid actor, goddamn it."). And even if he is phoning in his performance for a stupid movie that he knows he's better than--- it was still kind of a great performance in that, who-gives-a-fuck way.
The real star of this show, however, is Beverly D'Angelo. This movie reminded me of how much I love her. She had a character she could play really well and she knew it: the super-sexy shrew that you love to hate. Coincidentally, I saw her playing a gentler version of this same character in Christmas Vacation several days after watching High Spirits. I don't mean this as hyperbole- she is a truly great actor performing her character perfectly in this movie (and pretty much every movie she's in). The real shame of it all is this: she was stuck in the BS stereotyped roles that Hollywood wrote for women in the 80s and 90s. And now that she's older, Hollywood doesn't have a place for her (as it doesn't for any woman over the age of 40). Can you imagine a 25-year-old Beverly D'Angelo acting in today's Hollywood? Holy shit. She's be bigger than Scarjo, Jennifer Lawrence and Brie Larson combined. She's a goddamn national treasure and it's a shame we don't recognize it.
But don't get me wrong. This movie sucked. And it largely sucked because Steve Guttenberg only knows how to make two faces: (1) the "aw-shucks" what's-going-on face; and (2) the uber-surprised gas face that makes him look like Bill Murray being bullrushed by Slimer. I like Guttenberg, but this guy is limited.
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