Robert J. Maxwell
Nice cast -- and they all do a fine job with two exceptions. Steve Guttenberg's natural venue is a television situation comedy, and Beverly D'Angelo brings a touch of subtlety to her role. Subtlety is otherwise absent from this frantic mess.O'Toole is the owner of Plunkett Castle, actually Dromore Castle in County Limerick. Oh, it's a grand place, it is. I assume the interiors are sets but they're rich with atmosphere, a knockout place to throw a party. No kidding. It would be colossal fun to live in such a stony place, festooned as it is with cobwebs, as long as Darryl Hannah were running around in a diaphanous gown.Anyway, O'Toole must pay the mortgage or lose the castle and see it transported to Malibu where it will be converted into a theme park or something. To save his home, O'Toole remodels it and advertises it as a haunted hotel. Fake ghosts and goblins and banshees are arranged. Of course the plan falls apart because of the shoddy design, but then the real ghosts start showing up, for reasons known only to ghosts.It's all frenzied. It's too loud, too fast, and too clumsy. The jokes are fast, okay, but they're slapstick and ill thought out. The movie treats drunkenness as if that were funny in and of itself, although it's not. The dialog doesn't twinkle. Nobody says anything very amusing or clever. It reminded me of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" or, to a lesser extent, "1941." All had plenty of zest and not much else.It's a disappointment considering the talent and production values on display. Too bad. The writer/director, Neil Jordan, was responsible for the superior "Mona Lisa" and "The Crying Game." He seems to have gotten lost in the hidden passageways and spooky compartments here.
SnoopyStyle
Peter Plunkett (Peter O'Toole) is the drunk owner of a rundown Irish castle turned hotel. He needs to come up with the money in three weeks or else he will be foreclosed and the castle moved to Malibu. With his annoying mother's stories of ghosts, he gets his ragtag group of workers to haunt the castle for the arriving Yank tourists. Among the Americans are Jack (Steve Guttenberg) and wife Sharon Crawford (Beverly D'Angelo), Brother Tony (Peter Gallagher) before he takes his vows, Miranda (Jennifer Tilly) who has swore off men, Malcolm (Martin Ferrero) and his loud annoying family. The haunting efforts are amateurish but then the real ghosts show up. Sharon's father holds the mortgage and she's eager to disprove the ghosts. On the other hand, Jack falls for the beautiful ghost Mary (Daryl Hannah). Mary was killed by her husband Martin Brogan (Liam Neeson) and they are both forced to relive the moment. A drunken Jack breaks the moment.This could have been a fun little British romp about a bunch of local misfits trying to make a haunted castle. It has the potential to do that but the more Hollywood it gets, the less fun it becomes. The movie concentrates too much on the Americans. The more wacky the movie tries to be, the less funny it actually is. It's a funhouse without the fun. This is written and directed by Neil Jordan. It's possibly the low point of his career. Broad comedy isn't his thing.
Paul Evans
What the hell, its quirky, and yeah OK not always highly acted, but I utterly love this movie, it is hilarious, and Peter O'Toole is magical, truly a must for sitting down and watching on a cold wet evening. Set in Ireland, it does prove to be a little on the stereotypical side towards the Irish but again, who cares, Whiting Bisque etc. Some of the effects are a little on the dodgy side, but with Peter O'Toole acting as brilliantly as ever they seem unimportant. I saw this movie when I was 10 or so and always loved it, remember the scenes with the nuns gave me a few nightmares as a child. Funny to rewatch and see how silly things seem now in adulthood.
