47
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 60EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasIt'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.
- 60The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinLuckily, High Spirits has a good cast and enough joie de vivre to rise above some of its underlying clumsiness.
- 50Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasThe American big-movie sex comedy conventions overwhelm Jordan’s liberating poetry, his wild lyricism.
- 50Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyWriter-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.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineDespite considerable production support and a relatively high budget (it was shot on location in Ireland and on a massive interior set at England's famed Shepperton studios), this is easily the weakest effort in director-screenwriter Jordan's solid career.
- 50Chicago TribuneDave KehrChicago TribuneDave KehrThe film shows very little of the nar-rative assurance that has character-ized Jordan's previous work. [21 Nov 1988, p.2C]
- 50Miami HeraldJuan Carlos CotoMiami HeraldJuan Carlos CotoJordan'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]
- 30Time OutTime OutThe 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.
- 25Boston GlobeJay CarrBoston GlobeJay CarrNeil 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]