A first feature for the writing/directing duo of Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman, whose previous work has spanned shorts, music videos and commercials, "Extra Ordinary" is a sort of tea-cozy "Ghostbuster" that's always fun in a pleasant environment. -mileage. Will Forte's presence as a villain should help this Irish comedy (co-produced with Belgium) find a foothold in North America, and its idiosyncratic appeal will find pockets of cult fandom elsewhere outside the UK.
Comedian Maeve Higgins brings a distinctive, outspoken yet eccentric personality not far removed from her stand-up work, to heroine Rose Dooley, a shy thirty-something who makes a living in a small town as a driving instructor. She was once destined for greater things, however: her famous spiritualist father, Vincent, used or perhaps exploited her own psychic gifts as a child, until an accident involving a "haunted pothole" ended both her life and her life. like his supernatural life. vocation. Her voicemail still logs daily inquiries from the haunted ghost, messages she ignores.
Directors: Augustin Dulauroy, Virginie Dulauroy
Writer: Virginie Dulauroy
Star: Gabe Tesch
Rose's lonely, single side is brightened when new driving student Martin Martin (Barry Ward) turns out to be an eligible widower whom she clicks with. But he really is behind psychic services. He and his teenage daughter Sarah (Emma Coleman) are fed up with the poltergeist meddling of late wife and mother Bonnie, whose militant bossing around her home amounts to spectral spousal abuse. Rose is reluctant to help, having sworn "I would never use my talents again", but she relents.
Soon, however, she and Martin have an otherworldly problem to deal with: Sarah is found levitating above her bed, Linda Blair "Exorcist"-style, her state of suspended animation an apparent prelude of some sort. of evil rite . It takes adults a while to realize what we already know: This is the handiwork of Christian Winter (Forte), a Top 40 one-hit musician who still wafts on the fumes of his song. "Cosmic Woman" who aims to revive her commercial mojo with a virgin sacrifice to the Dark Lord. That is, if his relentlessly whiny and greedy wife Claudia (Claudia O'Doherty) doesn't keep interrupting her enchantments with pointless advice like, "Just kill the bitch."
Rose's added sensitivity to paranormal phenomena provides some mild visual gags throughout. But for the most part, "Extra Ordinary" relies more on character-based gameplay until a climactic slow-speed chase, followed by a demonic visitation finale that finally drags the film into effects-laden "Ghostbusters" proper terrain. . Even then, though, the silliness has an impromptu, impromptu feel, abetted by the presence of Rose's pregnant sister (Terri Chandler) and the unrelated guy she's nonetheless going on a third-trimester date with ( Jamie Beamish).
By turns vain, edgy, and ridiculously enthusiastic about Satan, Forte (also seen more briefly in two other SXSW premieres, "Good Boys" and "Booksmart") is in inspired form. Ward plays something of a masculine wit here, cute and charming in contrast to the rather drab Rose, but his likable touch takes on a whole other dimension as Martin begins to channel the blunt, smoking-hot Bonnie. (It's also a testament to the actor that a recurring gag involving the regurgitation of ectoplasm never gets old.) All support turns are also a game.
Ahern and Loughman (with credited "additional writing" assistance from Higgins and Demian Fox) have crafted an accessible wacky comedy that moves at a brisk but unhurried pace, incorporating a suitable array of digital effects for its whimsical theme without succumbing. to the usual excess of GC. The packaging is pretty clever in all departments, James Mather's widescreen lenses and Joe Fallover's production design in particular striking a deft line between quotidian, quaint travel brochure, and Hammer-esque gothic. Typical of the humor here is that American pop star Christian lives in a local castle, not for the sinister atmosphere, however, but to take advantage of Irish tax shelter laws.