Blithe Spirit (2020)

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The review presents the adaptation as a supernatural comedy built around marital chaos. It singles out Dan Stevens’s performance as enormous, though the available excerpt cuts off before elaborating.

The adaptation is wholehearted but falls short of the stage play’s dizzying silliness. The review singles out that missing sense of comic excess as its main flaw.

Erbland finds the adaptation woefully uninspired and disengaged from the play’s screwball charms. She praises the comedic cast, especially Stevens, Fisher, and Mann, but says their talents cannot rescue the limp film.

Steele finds the film loud and hysterical rather than witty, though she sees it as nonsensical fun when taken on its own terms. She praises the cast’s comic performances but says Judi Dench is wasted and the feminist rewrite does not quite work.

O’Sullivan finds the adaptation dull and unfunny, blaming its insipid direction and puerile, clumsy script. She praises the cast’s efforts and singles out Judi Dench’s splendid shawl, but says the rewrite drains Madame Arcati of her comic appeal.

Walsh finds the adaptation fizzy but overly basic and ultimately too ethereal to make its ideas land. She singles out the striking production design and period costumes as its most effective elements.

The review finds the remake’s broad tonal shift from Coward’s suavity largely unsuccessful, despite its committed cast. It particularly praises Leslie Mann’s maliciously flirtatious portrayal of Elvira.

Hutchinson finds the adaptation less funny and forceful than Coward’s play, ultimately calling it a diluted version of the original. She praises Dan Stevens’s charmingly deranged performance and the film’s period decor and costumes, while faulting the supporting performances and forced references.

Ide gives the adaptation a negative verdict, describing it as an unhappy revival. The headline singles out the exhumation of Coward’s urbane play as unsuccessful.

Siede finds the adaptation flat and tonally muddled, with little of Coward’s dry wit. She praises the lavish design, musical score, and Dan Stevens’s comic performance, but says the film lacks spirit.

Bradshaw finds the adaptation tired, dated and unfunny, with little life in its farce. He praises Judi Dench’s effort and singles out her surreal occult ceremony in a beachside cave.

The critic finds the adaptation rigidly unfunny and less modern than David Lean’s original. He singles out Judi Dench’s dry performance, but says the script’s changes and broad slapstick undermine the comedy.

The critic finds the comedy wildly uneven and repetitive. They single out its inconsistent tone and unfunny humor as key problems.