30
The script seems a collection of loose ends and rewrites; the direction is deeply dispirited; and with the exception of O'Toole and a couple of engaging vignettes, it's a complete turkey.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
50
The film shows very little of the nar-rative assurance that has character-ized Jordan's previous work. [21 Nov 1988, p.2C]
60
The New York Times by Janet Maslin
Luckily, High Spirits has a good cast and enough joie de vivre to rise above some of its underlying clumsiness.
25
Neil Jordan's High Spirits wants to be a supernatural comedy. But it isn't super, it isn't natural, it isn't high, and it isn't spirited. [18 Nov 1988, p.33]
50
Miami Herald by Juan Carlos Coto
Jordan's jokes are sometimes stereotypical barbs tossed at Americans, but the Irish director definitely can inject hackneyed Hollywood devices with high-spirited fun. Be warned, though, you'll have to stomach some dismal scenes between Hannah and Guttenberg -- the biggest stiffs in this movie. [18 Nov 1988, p.D8]
50
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
The American big-movie sex comedy conventions overwhelm Jordan’s liberating poetry, his wild lyricism.
50
Washington Post by Rita Kempley
Writer-director Neil Jordan shows no knack for comedy, nor is he as kinky as he was on Mona Lisa, and kinky is what is called for.
60
It's safe, it's mainstream and it's silly, but Guttenberg and Hannah strike up enough chemistry to give this big budget apparition at least a little depth.