---
title: "High Spirits"
year: 1988
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/high-spirits"
fi1m_id: "high-spirits"
imdb_id: "tt0095304"
tmdb_id: 21362
wikidata_id: "Q1617874"
fi1m_score: 52
critics_score: 46
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-10-04T20:48:26.254175+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-04T20:48:27.485493+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# High Spirits (1988)

Directed by Neil Jordan · 1h 39m · MPA PG-13 · Fantasy, Comedy, Horror

## Identity

High Spirits

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/high-spirits
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** high-spirits
- **IMDb ID:** tt0095304
- **TMDB ID:** 21362
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1617874
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095304/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/21362, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1617874

**Fi1m score: 52** · Critics 46 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* A holiday romance with a ghost, interrupted by almost everyone else on the cast list

> Peter O’Toole and an elaborate ghostly setting provide some pleasure, but Neil Jordan’s comedy cannot keep its scattered stories in order. The romance has warmth; the film keeps finding reasons to leave it alone.

## Synopsis

An American on holiday falls for a ghost, turning the prospect of romance into a problem with no ordinary solution. Jack Crawford (Steve Guttenberg) and Mary Plunkett (Daryl Hannah) are the central pair, with Peter Plunkett (Peter O’Toole) and Sharon Brogan Crawford (Beverly D’Angelo) caught up in the surrounding complications. Miranda (Jennifer Tilly) and Brother Tony (Peter Gallagher) also feature. The lovers try to bridge the distance between the living and the dead while other entanglements develop around them.

## Review

Neil Jordan’s *High Spirits* has enough warmth and visual imagination to make its muddle frustrating, but not enough good comedy to recommend it. Neil Jordan writes and directs a supernatural farce built around the complications of an American’s romance with a ghost. There is room in that idea for both silliness and sadness, and the film occasionally finds both. Too often, though, it wanders away from the people who might make either feeling matter.

Peter O’Toole is the chief reason to persevere. As Peter Plunkett, he supplies comic conviction that the surrounding story often lacks, making its whimsy seem worth indulging for a little longer. We do not need every joke to be clever when a performer can give the foolishness this much purpose. The trouble is how readily the film leaves him for another subplot, as though the cast list were a rota.

Steve Guttenberg and Daryl Hannah also give it something worth keeping. As Jack Crawford and Mary Plunkett, they have enough rapport to make the supernatural romance more than a complication to be explained. Their attraction is the part we want the film to stay with, because it gives us a reason to care what happens beyond the next joke. The romance remains thinly written, however, and their chemistry cannot supply all the development the script leaves out.

Alex Thomson’s cinematography and Anton Furst’s production design offer a persuasive reason to keep looking even when the jokes are struggling. The elaborate physical surroundings give the ghost story substance, and its darker passages suggest a sadder film than the broad comedy generally allows. We were briefly moved by the ghostly couple’s dancing. The tenderness there works because the film stops treating the lovers chiefly as a source of comic complications and gives their unhappiness some room.

Michael Bradsell’s editing has to contend with a script that keeps adding distractions to an already slight central story. Individual scenes can be agreeable, but their accumulation does not produce much comic momentum. George Fenton’s music does not settle the competing demands of romance and farce, though that is asking a score to solve a writing problem. At 99 minutes, the film still finds time for diversions that interrupt its better scenes, with each change of emphasis asking us to begin caring again.

Supernatural comedy can accommodate a surprising amount of sadness, provided the living and the dead have clear reasons for bothering each other. Here the romantic possibilities are more convincing than the comic plotting built around them. Neil Jordan seems interested in the hurt beneath the fantasy, yet too much of the film is spent attending to comic business that does not deepen it. Admirers of Peter O’Toole may find enough pleasure to forgive the diversions. Anyone coming chiefly for a ghostly romance should expect frequent interruptions.

*Fi1m score 52, published 4 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews lean towards mixed or negative, with praise concentrated on individual performances and the physical production rather than the comedy as a whole. Peter O’Toole earns approval for his comic performance, while the chemistry between Steve Guttenberg and Daryl Hannah gives the romance some depth. The elaborate production and darker supernatural touches also find admirers. Even among the less persuaded critics, there is recognition of occasional poetry in the ghostly romance.

The main reservations concern a slender plot, scattered subplots and humour that works only intermittently. The spread runs from qualified enjoyment to outright dismissal, though none of the recorded assessments is wholly positive. Radio Times finds enough easy laughs to enjoy despite the crowded storytelling. At the harsher end, Time Out’s available assessment dismisses the film and faults its treatment of the love affair between Ireland and Hollywood.

## Straight answers

**Is High Spirits worth watching?**

*High Spirits* offers some pleasure for Peter O’Toole admirers, but we find it too scattered to recommend generally and score it 52 out of 100. O’Toole’s comic conviction, the elaborate ghostly setting and a warm central romance help, but weak jokes and distracting subplots keep interrupting what works.

**How long is High Spirits, and what is it rated?**

*High Spirits* runs 1h 39m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a fantasy and comedy film.

**Where can I watch High Spirits in the US?**

*High Spirits* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Tubi and Apple TV in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is High Spirits, and is it suitable for children?**

*High Spirits* has a UK 15 certificate, making it unsuitable for children under 15 despite its fantasy-comedy premise. The ghostly romance includes darker passages, but we cannot give a specific warning about violence or the intensity of its scares; the certificate is the clearest guide for families.

**How does High Spirits compare to The Ghost and Mrs. Muir?**

*High Spirits* is the broader, busier comedy; we recommend [*The Ghost and Mrs. Muir*](https://film.one/film/the-ghost-and-mrs-muir) as the more persuasive supernatural romance. The latter gives its lovers’ separation more attention and earns its tenderness, though its leisurely pace needs patience. *High Spirits* offers elaborate surroundings and Peter O’Toole’s comic conviction, but keeps leaving its romance for less rewarding subplots.

**What should I watch after High Spirits?**

After *High Spirits*, try [*The Ghost and Mrs. Muir*](https://film.one/film/the-ghost-and-mrs-muir) (1947, Fi1m 84): A quieter supernatural romance, with more patience for what separates its lovers. Then [*A Chinese Ghost Story*](https://film.one/film/a-chinese-ghost-story) (1987, Fi1m 82): For supernatural romance willing to let its comedy sit beside real sorrow; and [*Beetlejuice*](https://film.one/film/beetlejuice) (1988, Fi1m 83): A more assured supernatural comedy that makes its elaborate surroundings earn their keep.

### Reviews we read (6)

- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict cannot be established. No praised or criticized element can be identified from the available page text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/18/movies/reviews-film-a-ghostly-scheme-to-save-a-castle.html)
- **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (3/5): Jones finds the comedy manages its whimsical, easy laughs despite a slender plot. He praises Peter O’Toole’s performance but says the many scattered subplots prevent full comic satisfaction. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-7tcpy1/high-spirits/)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (55/100, inferred): The critic finds the supernatural whimsy uneven, with its quality rising and falling from moment to moment. They praise its appealing dark underpinnings and elaborate physical production. [Read](https://variety.com/1987/film/reviews/high-spirits-2-1200427559/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, MICHAEL WILMINGTON (45/100, inferred): Wilmington finds the film a fragmented, overblown comedy whose flashes of poetry cannot overcome its misjudged conventions. He praises its visual splendor and the lyrical moments in the ghostly couple’s dance of death. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-18-ca-710-story.html)
- **Empire**, William Thomas (35/100, inferred): Thomas finds the film briefly entertaining but ultimately forgettable and disappointing. He singles out the chemistry between Steve Guttenberg and Daryl Hannah as giving the comedy some depth. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/high-spirits-review/)
- **Time Out**, SGr (15/100, inferred): The review’s available description calls the film dreadful. It faults the film’s treatment of the love affair between Ireland and Hollywood. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/high-spirits)

## Details

- **Director:** Neil Jordan
- **Director:** Neil Jordan
- **Writer:** Neil Jordan
- **Cinematography:** Alex Thomson
- **Editor:** Michael Bradsell
- **Music:** George Fenton
- **Production design:** Anton Furst
- **Costume design:** Emma Porteous
- **Producer:** Stephen Woolley, David Saunders
- **Cast:** Peter O'Toole as Peter Plunkett; Daryl Hannah as Mary Plunkett; Steve Guttenberg as Jack Crawford; Beverly D'Angelo as Sharon Brogan Crawford; Jennifer Tilly as Miranda; Liam Neeson as Martin Brogan; Peter Gallagher as Brother Tony; Martin Ferrero as Malcolm
- **Runtime:** 1h 39m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 18 November 1988
- **Genres:** Fantasy, Comedy, Horror
- **Budget:** $15 million
- **Box office:** $8 million

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: streaming
- The Roku Channel: free, hd
- Tubi: free
- Apple TV: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-10-04.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, DE, ES, FR, GB, IE, IT, NL, NZ, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress 1989: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Blithe Spirit* (1945): Ghostly interference exposes marital grievances, with sharper comic manners and more disciplined plotting.
- *The Ghost and Mrs. Muir* (1947), Fi1m 84: A quieter supernatural romance, with more patience for what separates its lovers. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-ghost-and-mrs-muir.md)
- *A Chinese Ghost Story* (1987), Fi1m 82: For supernatural romance willing to let its comedy sit beside real sorrow. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-chinese-ghost-story.md)
- *Beetlejuice* (1988), Fi1m 83: A more assured supernatural comedy that makes its elaborate surroundings earn their keep. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/beetlejuice.md)
- *Extra Ordinary* (2019): Irish supernatural comedy with a firmer grasp of the people beneath the paranormal fuss.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/high-spirits