I’m not going to lie. As someone that writes a lot, that’s definitely a mild version of a
conversation I’ve had with myself. Very family friendly version. Welcome back! This time,
we’ll be looking at Blithe Spirit, and this is a comedy to help quench everyone’s thirst
for something a little lighter. Spoiler alert. While I might give
you my opinion on the film, that’s no substitute for watching it for yourself.
Links to the film are in the description. Charles continues to stare at the blank page,
and it becomes clear that he’s suffering from a terrible case of writer’s block.
He takes a second to look over at a crime fiction award he had been given,
so at least we know he CAN write when he’s not stuck. He tries to find inspiration in music, but
it ends up disturbing his loving wife, Ruth. She coaxes him into turning off the music,
and she returns to the main house while he suffers from his terrible, alcohol assisted depression.
While the servants bring everyone their meals, Charls throws a fit that once again attracts the
attention of Ruth. When she comes up to his study, she finds him in a funk, and she tries to convince
him that what he has to do isn’t that hard. She’s not wrong really. He’s being commissioned
to write a screenplay that’s adapted from the story that he wrote! He’s already done
most of the footwork, now he essentially has to reword the story he already has established!
It’s during this time that Charles drops a picture of his dead wife, Elvira,
and Ruth assures him that she’s not mad. I guess depending on the relationship,
that could be seen as a term of endearment, but I’m going to assume that this isn’t one
of those relationships. Why is it that the ones that are good with words are the ones
that always say the worst possible ones? Later on, Ruth decides to play tennis with a
colleague Mrs. Bradman, and she complains about the entire interaction she had with Charles.
Mrs. Bradman assures her that she’s got nothing to worry about since Elvira is dead, and she
advises her to pick up an extra romantic hobby while he works the kinks out of his career.
When Ruth gets home, she reminds Charles that they have to go to the theater that evening,
and they arrive just in time for the medium’s show to start. Obviously, Charles is not a believer,
but Madame Cecily puts on one hell of a show until things go wrong. As she’s being lifted
above the stage, the handle breaks, and she plummets straight into the orchestra pit.
While most of the audience is furious about her being a fraud, Charles has come up with a
wonderful idea. He heads backstage and invites her to perform a private seance at his house.
After they leave the theater, Charles explains that his new character is actually dead
and communicates through a medium, and that’s why he really wants her to come over.
When Madame comes over, she makes contact with a spirit,
but no one knows of anyone that would want to contact them from the other side.
Not to mention, they all think she’s a kook, but she loses consciousness at one point.
This is when she knows something big happened. This is the kind of humor in store for anyone that
watches it. But I have to say, it’s good just to see Judi Dench playing yet another unnatural
character. She’s an absolute gem. What’s your favorite Judi Dench character?
After Charles pays her for the evening, no one can hold in the laughter after the events of
the evening. When Madame gets home, she tells her dead husband that she can’t explain what happened,
but she’s convinced that something phenomenal took place in that house.
Back at the house, Charles is thinking about turning in for the night,
but Ruth convinces him to go work instead. So, naturally, Charles pours himself a drink before
anything. That’s just common practice for people of a certain career. I can’t really blame him.
As he takes the first sip, he is startled by the vision of Elvira fading into existence.
As Elvira wanders through the house, she believes that Charles has completely redecorated the house
over the course of a weekend, but he sets her straight in a calm, subtle tone.
He seriously couldn’t come up with a better way to say that? He’s a legitimate wordsmith,
and all he could say are the two most blunt words to say at a time like this?
After he tells her that she might be a ghost, she begins to weep uncontrollably, and this is where
Ruth walks in. When she asks who he’s talking to, he bluntly says that he’s talking to his wife,
but she doesn’t believe him. Charles begins to think that he’s going mad, so he invites a doctor
out the next day. While the doctor sits there and listens to Charles and Ruth go back and forth,
Charles is still convinced that it was simply a realistic hallucination.
After his checkup, Charles apologizes for everything he said to Ruth,
and the two of them head to meet with Ruth’s father, Harry, to pitch his new idea.
While they are there, Harry decides to introduce them to the director, but it’s now that Elvira
decides to make another appearance. I love how Elvira just got the news that she’s
dead, and she wastes no time before trying to sabotage Charles’ new marriage. [Mocking Elvira]
Oh no! I’m dead? Well, if I make you insult her enough, you might be soon enough too.
As Charles continues to insult Elvira, it comes across as if he’s insulting everyone else around
him, and Harry ends up punching him in the face before Ruth takes them away. Later, Charles tries
to write up his new script, but he’s interrupted by Elvira. After the staff sees him talking to
what seems to just be the void, Ruth sits him down to talk about seeing the doctor again. In a final
attempt to stay out of the loony bin, Charles begs Elvira to do something to show herself.
He can’t really be too mad. She is his first love, and she’s stuck trying to convince the
new wife of her ethereal existence. Plus, what can any of them really do to her anyways? It’s
not like they can just throw her out, can they? Ruth makes her way to see the Madame before she
leaves town, and when she explains the situation to her, Madame is ecstatic with pride. She feels
as though she’s finally being rewarded for all her years of devotion and study.
Essentially, it feels like she’s been doing all of this as a way to try and communicate
to her dead husband, and I can’t really blame her. If there was a way to do that, I’d spend
years dedicated to the same practice. If you could speak to dead loved ones, wouldn’t you?
Madame actually warns her that if the emotional connection is strong enough, the manifestation
can become physical. Meanwhile, Elvira is trying to rekindle the spark that was there before,
but Charles is caught up with trying to finish writing his screenplay.
They end up going out on the boat, and Elvira accomplishes what Charles has been trying
to do for months. She even does it better. If you’re ever stuck writing something on your own,
you might be surprised how having the right partner can help you finish a story even
better than you had originally planned. Don’t get it twisted though. Sometimes you’re just
better at storytelling. It’s hard to say. Meanwhile, Ruth is waiting to hear how Madame
plans to send Elvira back to the other side, but she admits that she hasn’t the foggiest
idea on how to do it. It’s here that Ruth spills the beans that she was employed to
merely show Charles the tricks of the trade. Not because anyone actually believed she
could communicate with the other side. When Madame says she has to leave because
she can’t afford to stay, Ruth whips out her checkbook and agrees to cover all expenses
until she’s able to get rid of Elvira. Don’t just come out and say the terms
like that! For all she knows, Madame could just keep saying that she’s working on it,
when in reality she’ll just be living rent free in a nice hotel! Amateur hour.
Back at the house, Elvira is feeding Charles the most supple story he’s ever written,
but she stops mid-flow when she wants to go out and spend some quality time with Charles.
At first, he tries to say no, but that obviously doesn’t last. While they drink, they admit
how much they miss each other, and Charles admits that he never really got over her.
Elvira asks if Charles really loves Ruth, and he assures her that he does but in a different way.
At the house, Ruth can clearly see the difference in Charles when he’s with her compared to Elvira,
and sure enough, Elvira drives Charles right up to the front door.
There’s something about being able to say whatever you want without repercussions,
and the fact that she chooses these little quips is refreshing for her character.
After Ruth realizes that Elvira drove the car and helped him finish the first act of his screenplay,
she informs Elvira that she’s been in contact with Madame, and she’s going to be sending her
back as soon as she can. Charles follows after Ruth, and he reassures her that this is the best
way for them to live their dream in Hollywood. Ruth makes him promise that he can’t touch her,
and he tries to reassure her that he can’t and wouldn’t want to anyways.
That night, Elvira pays Madame a visit, and she swears that she’ll
haunt her until the day she dies unless she understands that Elvira is going nowhere.
When Charles wakes up, Elvira is threatening him after seeing him holding Ruth. As the day goes on,
it seems to be a rather glorious day, but leave it to a vengeful spirit to ruin the day.
Elvira ends up breaking Ruth and Charles’ wedding china, and she even goes as far as to sabotage
Ruth’s garden as judges arrive to inspect it. Back in town, Madame visits the psychic foundation
and asks for assistance in banishing Elvira’s spirit, but even they think she’s a fraud now.
When you make a mockery of the entire art by fake levitating in front of a vast audience
and get caught doing it, I’d say the society has every right to suspend you for fraud. Although,
it’s a tricky and controversial art in itself. After she’s kicked out of the society,
the assistant meets her in the square to give her the ingredients for a banishing spell.
At an anniversary gathering, Elvira slips something into Ruth’s drink, and she drinks
it up while Charles gives a meaningful speech. Soon, Ruth starts feeling a little lucid,
and she has to lie down. Elvira takes this chance to get a little physical with Charles in bed.
The next day, Elvira starts scaring off the staff, but she continues to help Charles finish the
script. Once the script is done, Elvira convinces Charles not to say anything to Ruth just yet,
and Ruth tells him she’ll tolerate Elvira so long as the script gets done.
When Charles and Elvira go for a walk, he admits that he is having trouble seeing a
future for the two of them since she’s dead, and she starts to show signs of fading.
Eventually, they make it back home when… Make up your mind! Who do you want? Honestly,
I would’ve lived the rest of my days with my ghost wife. Doesn’t seem that bad at all! I wouldn’t
have to really worry about anything either. Hell, make me a ghost too! No more worries at all!
Once Ruth makes Charles realize that Elvira is trying to get him to spend eternity with her,
he begins to panic. Ruth calls the hotel to check on Madame, but she finds out that she checked out
the day before. The two of them decide to try and make a safe space for the night,
and we see Madame walking through a flower field picking ingredients next.
While Ruth and Charles try to set up a space without sharp or heavy objects,
he tells her how he actually has the script finished. After hearing such joyous news,
Ruth mentions that they can finally banish Elvira once Madame shows up,
but Elvira is listening to the two of them. The next morning, the phone rings.
When Ruth goes out to answer it, she finds out that Madame has finished gathering everything,
and Ruth tells her that she’ll come pick her up immediately. After Ruth leaves,
the maid checks on Charles, but she’s appeared at a time that is anything but convenient. When
she mentions that Ruth left a while ago, Elvira seems to know something that they don’t.
That was perfect. I’ve laughed quite a few times throughout this film, but that was one of the most
unexpected times. Anyone that says this isn’t a dark comedy in its own way is dead wrong!
During the funeral, Charles spots Madame waiting outside, and she apologizes for being
a part of the situation. After Charles takes responsibility for everything,
she tells him to contact her when all is said and done, and she makes her way out. Once Charles
interacts with Elvira again, it’s not the same sweet conversations they were having before.
Charles ends up chasing Elvira around the garden, and people inside start to take notice.
Dr. Bradbury comes out to try and calm him down, but when that proves to be a mute point,
he resorts to a tranquilizer shot. When Charles comes to,
he’s tied down on a bed in a mental institute. Of course, Elvira is with him.
Elvira is smart, and I don’t understand how he wouldn’t want to be with her even in death.
I guess that probably says a lot about me too,
but oh well. He’s getting ready to be wheeled down the corridor for electroshock treatment,
when he could’ve been living happily ever after with his ghost wife this whole time!
Elvira tells him that she wants a divorce, and he promises that he wants the same.
When they arrive at Madame’s cottage, she can’t believe he’s made it there in one piece.
On top of that, she can’t believe that Elvira is in favor of going back now either! When the
moon comes up, Madame begins the ceremony, and the first ritual doesn’t succeed. So, Madame
goes ahead with another ritual. It obviously doesn’t work. Madame conducts a third ritual,
but this time, a different reaction occurs. You would think this would be a recipe for
disaster, but in actuality, it ends up being a team up between Elvira and
Ruth. I wouldn’t be surprised if Charles ends up wanting both of them gone now.
Eventually, Charles decides to leave before Madame has her chance to fix things, and Elvira and Ruth
follow him wherever he walks off to. Madame tries her ritual again, but this time, she brings back
the spirit of her dead husband. She’s finally accomplished her goal of all these years.
Six months later in Hollywood, Charles is sitting on the set of his own movie,
and he’s raking in the glory for everything. During shooting, a reporter arrives and
accuses Charles of plagiarism, and he can’t believe her source. It turns out that all the
novels he wrote with Elvira’s inspiration were all pulled from a Mexican author!
None of it was an original story. Speed up to shorten time? Or cut the part
where he stands up and takes four seconds.] Oh snap! OK. So that little tap was enough
to kill him? Now I’m about twenty times more paranoid about getting run over by a car. Also,
the credits roll. During the credits, we actually hear how Madame is reaching out to Charles, and
he tells her the other side is complicated as we hear Elvira and Ruth call his name. Go figure.
I’m an absolute sucker for dark comedies, and it’s nice to find one that’s almost an innocent
version of one. I loved the story, the execution, and the cast. Leslie Man is an absolute favorite,
and I can’t believe this one almost went under the radar for me!
Thank you for watching, and I hope you enjoyed the video. Don’t forget to like and subscribe for more
like this one. Comment what you think I should watch next, and I’ll see you in the next video.